Of Tank and Hunters
by MaroonNightfury31
Summary: The infected are mutating, yet some are lucking enough to remain nearly human. (REVISION IN-PROGRESS)
1. Of Nick and Mud

Revised November 7, 2014

**PLEASE READ:**

I am changing the point of view from 1st to 3rd to help flow. If a chapter does not have "Revised-" at the top, it will still be in 1st person because I have not re-written it yet. I first wrote this in 2011 and I think it could use some major tweaking. The story line will otherwise remain the same, and I will delete this little portion when all the revising is done. I will try to finish as quickly as possible so it won't be confusing for too long. It will be a mess, but I hope you can have a little patients for me.

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><p>Ellis dropped from the rotting fence, the other three survivors falling at his side. All a little less happy then the young man, but that couldn't possibly be his fault.<p>

Ellis couldn't help but let a giggle escape, earning him a sharp green glare from Nick. "It wasn't funny, kid..."

"Are you kidding me? That Hunter was fucking hilarious!" Ellis retorted back, seeing the Gambler roll his eyes as Rochelle and Coach turned their way.

"It wasn't on you. Nick wasn't having such a blast." Rochelle sighed, wiping her mud covered hands on her jeans before adjusting her rifle in her tired, sweaty grip.

"Yeah, I'm damn sure I wasn't." Nick huffed, hitting the bill of Ellis' hat until it fell over his eyes. "Now get out of my way."

Ellis frowned, but otherwise moved aside. Nick bumped his shoulder slightly, starting on a way down the ravine that led deeper into the swamp. Farther away from the over-run hotel. They hadn't found much for supplies anyway, it had been a waste of time.

Instead, a horde had broken through the tree line, a pack of hunters at the lead. The group hadn't even lifted their weapons before one was on Nick, shoving him back. All four had been forced back near to an incline, and the Hunter was small, pushing Nick back before he fell to the ground, rolling off the edge. The Hunter held Nick tight by the shoulders until they slammed into the muddy ground at the bottom.

They landed hard in the creek, and Nick immediately kicked the Hunter in the stomach, sending him over his head. The Hunter took off, dashing out of sight before Coach had made it to the shorter man's side.

And damn, it had been funny.

The group continued on as they always had, the infected thinning out the farther into the swamp they went, as if the water deterred them. Before too long the water was deep enough they were practically swimming up to their belts in muddy, filth ridden rivers. The Common couldn't swim, that much everyone knew. Only Tanks would brave the murky water. Ellis wasn't so sure of Chargers. He had never seen one drown, but he never saw one swim either.

"Damn it! My suits ruined!" Nick complained from behind, lifting his right leg out of the water to inspect the water that was filling his shoes and staining his white trousers.

"Was it supposed to stay perfectly clean, Nick?" Coach asked, raising an eyebrow. Nick rolled his eyes and moved forward, foot steps sloshing around the mud until the water was an opaque green. "No, just thought it would last longer..."

Ellis pulled his own leg hard, feeling the mud suck at his boot before giving in. Water had completely filled around his feet and he was beginning to shake. Whether it was from the cold or from exhaustion, he didn't know.

He thought about what a nice new pair of socks would feel like.

Pretty damn good, probably.

Ellis had moved his way in front of the others, feeling the cold water wash around his legs. He shivered as he heard Coach freeze quickly, tapping Ellis' shoulder with his gun.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing, man." Ellis hissed, shrugging the nose of the gun away.

"Shush!" He hissed, hitting Nick in the arm with his own as Rochelle pointed to a tree a few yards away. A crouching figure silently hopped to a different limb, hiding in its shadow. Ellis lifted his gun, looking through the scope. The Hunter froze, seeing the man's movements and knowing what they meant. Ellis let his body freeze, cross-hairs centered on the zombie's head.

He stopped.

"Look." Ellis said, lowering his gun."His eyes..."

"Ellis, you have a clear shot." Rochelle whispered, her shoulder stiff with tension.

Ellis shook his head, watching the Hunter's hands push the long, oily hair away from it's eyes. "No. He isn't attacking. What's he doing?"

Nick growled. "He isn't doing shit, Ellis, which is exactly what we want." He grabbed the gun out of Ellis' hand, aimed it quickly. The shot rang through the desolate swamp, only to be met with the sharp cry of the Hunter, which promptly fell from the tree, running ahead.

"Shit, that's the same one that jumped me! He's been following us." Nick exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. The four of them could only watch the retreating figure, staying close to the tree line in an attempt to stay dry.

"Good going Ellis! You could have taken that thing out with one shot!" Nick yelled, rounding on the younger man. Ellis scowled and took a step back, feeling the mud under his boots give a little.

"But Nick, He-"

"No, Ellis. There was nothing about that thing that was any different from the rest. If you do that again I'll shoot you second." Nick threatened coldly.

Coach shook his head, holding up his hand. "Now Nick, calm down. We need to find a house before this downpour starts." He stepped between the two other men, beginning to march through the ice cold water that was sloshing over his thick belly.

"He was watching me, he was." Ellis interrupted, starting after the big man and slinging his gun over his shoulders.

"Shit right he was." Nick growled, staying a few steps behind Ellis, with Rochelle bringing up the rear.

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><p>So, here's the beginning of a terrifyingly long revision.<p>

I am going to continue the sequel but it won't continue until I fix the point of view in this, the first, and what exists of the sequel.

If this is the first time you're reading, I apologize for the mess, and thanks to everyone who has left feedback and kept reading, despite my terrible 2011 writing skills.


	2. Of Packs and Survivors

_**Hunter**_

The deep huff of the Tank made me freeze as he passed. Giving me a side glance as his massive arms, much bigger then me, pounded the ground. But it was nothing like when he raged. His giant shoulders turned to look my way, but his eyes quickly averted elsewhere. I shook my head and turned the other direction, noticing my small Pack gathering together.

Mitch sat up, legs brought up around his sides. He glared at me, his hood shadowing his deep acrue eyes. "Now that the mutts here, I figure we could start."

"Well, I'm starving so were going to go try and catch something. Preferably those humans that Chip let get away..." He finished, kicking dirt my way. A snicker escaped the Hunter to my left as I began a raspy cough. "Lets get going. I don't want that damn Jockey to get to them first."

He stood on his legs, stretching his arms wide while groaning.

After an hours travel we picked up the scent of the survivors. I had seen them once before, in a hotel. And we had followed them all the way here. Disrupting them a few times a long the way. Last time I was the one to let them get away. Just as they had tried to leave a parking lot after the Tanker had blown up. The shock of the explosion threw me off the woman I had pinned..

Now they had made they're we here, into the buoys of Louisiana. Their car had only gone so far, and we had been watching them as they made their way to a hotel. A dead witch hung over the empty pool side as we jumped over the fence. Her long claws still imbedded in the ground.

"Dumb Bitch..." Mitch hissed, standing on his legs and smelling the air, the other four did the same. I stayed down, my back curving down, in a defensive stature. I could smell them. They were still in the hotel itself, and I heard the nasty cough of the smoker. I could see him on the roof, just above where I believed they stood. Mitch leaned down, grabbing the back of my black jacket.

"You stay right here. I'm not gonna let you mess this up again." He hissed, giving me a hard pat on the back. I watched all five walk away, leaving me behind. I began walking around the building, scouting out my pack. I saw a Huntress leap to the roof, motioning for me to be quiet. She was right behind a large man. Looking as if he was going balled and had dark skin. She disappeared behind the hall railings, but I was sure she was ready to spring. A younger man looked over his shoulder, more to be sure then anything, and saw the crouching figure right behind him.

"Hunter!" He yelled, turned his gun around. A women next to him pulled the older man out of the way as another man in a white jacket joined the first and shot at the Huntress. She jumped over the ledge, screeching as a shot grazed her hip. I darted behind a car, knocking an unsuspecting Common to the ground with a sharp yip.

The survivors bolted down the stairs, the man in white in the lead. Mitch lept from the roof, heading straight for the younger man, who was lagging behind once he stumbled slightly on the stairs. They had moved their way to the edge of a hill that was a straight drop into the swamp. The man in white lifted his gun, aiming right at Mitch, and I knew he wasn't going to miss.

I leaned back on my hips, bringing my weight back. With a sharp screech I lept forward, knocking into the unsuspecting man. The impact surprised me as much as him. I hadn't actually thought I would hit him. And that caused me to stop just before impact, making me clumsily push him over. We both stumbled, me on top of him as he tried to grab onto the ground before rolling over the edge.

We rolled head over heels, hitting the mushy ground and sharp rocks before we hit the bottom, him under me. The water was shallow, barely ankle high. I froze, unsure of what to do. I had a _survivor __underneath me_ and I had no idea how to get away. I wasn't sure I wanted to. Mitch would kill me.

The man cursed under his breath as we sat there for a moment before pushing his feet under me, pushing up hard. I yelped, letting go of his jacket and flying into the water. I sputtered up, having landed face down. I heard him cock the gun and turned to see it against my back. I rolled away and lept to safety behind a large bush. The thorns picking at my jacket that was now soaked. I shook my body and each leg separately.

"Where did the little bastard go?" I heard a man call, closer then I thought he would be. I whined again and crawled away, belly low. I heard what I believed to be the younger man, parting a bush to my left.

The white man parted a bush of his own at my right. I backed up, haunches in the air. My hood fell slightly back. My brown hair fell forward into my eyes as the women leaned in closer.

"Holy-!" She exclaimed, pushing the younger man out of the way. Having been right in front of me. I turned and ran, not daring to even watch where I stepped. I could feel sharp rocks and sticks digging at my hands and feet, but I didn't stop. I had to beat Mitch and the others. If they caught me I was dead for sure. If those humans caught me I was no better off.

I skidded to a hard stop, panting hard. I lifted my left hand from the water, inspecting the damage. My palm was cut, but nothing that would heal. Oh yeah. At least I could heal. That's what saved from so many things. But infection was not one. I never changed completely, but I am still one of the few that have begun to mutate.

A good number of Infected had turned into what the Survivors had called "Specials". We were stronger and faster than the Common, and had a good amount of smarts left. But I had changed oddly. I could stand but it was a slouch. I could walk but mostly it was a crawl like a stalking cat. My color had stayed. I was only slightly pale and had kept my eye color. My body weight was something that I hadn't kept. I couldn't stand eating these people.

I didn't want to live with these Hunters. I wanted to be on my own, but it would mean curtain death from a guy like me. I had promised my brother I would make it out of here. I promised I would get to an Evacuation Center. But right now, that didn't look possible. I had to go back. So, I did. I turned tail and began to drag myself towards what was likely going to kill me anyway.

Mitch.

Before to long it was all water, and I was restricted to the creek beds. Dead zombies were scattered here and there. Some had been torn by their own kind. The fight for food becoming harder.

"It wasn't funny Overalls..."

"Are you kiddin' me? That Hunter was friggen hilarious!"

I froze, the humans right in front of me and I hadn't even seen them.

"It wasn't on you sweety-" The women began, but I was already up a tree, trying to make my escape. The loud hush made me freeze once again, trying to hide in the fading light. The four had paused, turned my way. The younger man lifted his gun, pointing it right at my tree. I could already feel the bullet going through me. My black jacket would have hid me in the dark, but not in the dusk light.

But the young man stopped.

The gun lowered, his gaze meeting mine for a moment before he let his arm go limp. The older man, the one I had _attacked_ grabbed the gun from his hands, bringing it to his shoulder. The click of the trigger made me move, the bullet barely grazing my arm, but I still yelled out of surprise. My body fell, the branch swaying from the shock. I fell to the water with a _splat_, at least a gallon going down my throat. I dug my claws into the grass at my left and yanked myself out, darting away from the still-raised-gun.


	3. Of Hordes and Rain

**_Ellis_**

We sat in the safe room, night getting closer. Well, I guess it was already here. I was watching first, my gun cradled in my lap. Coach was sitting up in the opposite corner, half-awake, staring at the ceiling. Rochelle had already curled up a few feet away and her breathing had gone shallow awhile ago, signalling sleep. Nick was a different case. He was still up and walking, reading the writing on the wall and adding a few comments himself with a pen I didn't know he had.

He glanced around a few times, seeing if we were still awake, and made a cold glare at me each time.

I didn't know what he was so mad about. So the hunter got away, big deal. It didn't hurt him. Knocked the wind out of him for sure, but no injuries. But all day he didn't look at me once with even a blank expression. And every Common or Special we saw was shot down by him and him only. Maybe Coach was right. Maybe he was just tired like the rest of us. Maybe he really had had enough of me, and was ready to shoot me.

It sure did seem that way recently. We were all getting tired of this. Tired of running and hoping we could get farther. Some times it just made you blow up. CEDA said they would be in a certain place, but really are never there, and you start the chase over again.

Either way, I know I saw something in that Hunters eyes. He was so small. Not the average man-sized Hunter we usually saw. His hood was drawn back just a bit, showing dark brown hair that was, what I saw, down to his ears and almost covering his emerald green eyes. He didn't attack, just ran. I mean, yeah he jumped Nick, but Nick didn't have anything but scrapes and bruises.

Nick put his hands on his hips, exhaling loudly. He stared at me for a moment. "Why did you let him go?" He asked, a little quieter then earlier.

"I'll give ya the same answer that I gave ya an hour ago. I don't know." Of course I did. I just didn't want to start another argument. But of course it came to that.

"What do you mean 'You don't know'? Your the Trigger Happy Hay Seed and you _don't know?"_

I glared. I didn't like is names. "Why is this so important to ya? You didn't get hurt, he ran off. He didn't-" I stopped, not knowing how to continue.

By now Rochelle had woken, standing to her feet and walking between us.

"Knock it off you two. Ellis is right, it barely touched you. You both need some sleep and I doubt we need someone to watch tonight." She yawned, pushing Nick down by his shoulders none too gently. He grumbled unintentional words. Rochelle slapped me upside the head.

/

We had finally gotten out of the swamps, the road, getting less and less dry the longer we walked. I heard the thunder ahead of us, and began to count the second between each boom like Keith had showed me. It was at least six miles away, the dark clouds growing larger as it swelled.

"Looks like uh nasty storm." Coach called who was behind me, killing a few infected that came screaming from the alley ways.

"I'm telling you guys. That swamp isn't to far away. It wont take long for that Tank to catch up." Nick said, glancing over his shoulder to add emphasis to what he said. We hadn't been out of the safe room 10 minutes before the angry gorilla came barrelling through. We ran out of its way and through a thin pass, surrounded by rocks that were to close together for him to go through. But we knew he would try and find a way.

That's just how Tanks were.

The thunder was closer, 3 miles away now, and I was in the lead. Rochelle was next to me, not wanting me to be attacked by every infected within a mile radius. Which we (mostly me) had learned the hard way.

The scream of the horde broke us from our silence, the rain starting to come down in a light drizzle. The infected poured over the fences in front of us, screaming and waving their arms. We began to shoot. The familiar feeling giving me a sense of protection and power.

I hated these random attacks. Hour after hour. It was as if they were waiting, gathering in groups in hopes of taking us down one day.

A yell from Coach made me look back. That man had been only feet away from me, and had he been further I wouldn't have heard him being pulled. The smoker was on a roof behind us, his long tongue grasped around Coach's torso.

I shot twice, the first hitting his tongue, and the second was a head shot. I was rather glad Keith and I had gone shooting most weekends up in the mountains...well, when we weren't in the hospital.

Coach fell to the ground with a shuddering cough and untangled the tongue from around him. I ran over, grabbing his arm and helping him to his feet. He held onto my shoulder for a moment, his injured knee lifted slightly off the ground.

"You okay?" I asked, shooting a zombie to our right.

"Yeah, just bent it a little more 'en normal that's all." He replies, putting his leg back down and walking forward to join the rest. I followed, blasting away the few that came close.

"Hows this for Trigger Happy Hay Seed?" I asked Nick, shooting off my gun at three more. He just rolled his eyes, shoving me aside once a second Smoker tongue shot out. It missed us both and instead grabbed an infected the had been behind us. The zombie was dragged a few feet before the Smoker realised that his target had been missed, and he let the creature go, only to be shot by Nick and me and the same time.

I barely had time to reload before the concrete slab slammed into the road a few feet in front of us, crushing the Infected underneath, The car was overturned in seconds, flying out way, and I knew that the Tank had found his way around. He screamed and roared, waving his arms above his head.

That was fast.


	4. Of Tanks and Running

**Short chapter is short...**

"Go! Go!" I yelled, shooting a few rounds into its burly arms. The Tank roared, throwing his arms above his head and slamming them down hard. He stood at least two feet higher then me, his entire body rippling with muscles as the bullets merely bounced off.

He threw another car, barely missing Rochelle who was trying to help Nick, who was being pulled by a Jockey. The Tank was only yards away, throwing a fit over us all being to far apart to do real damage. His fists pounded cracks into the slick road.

I could tell Coach had lied. His leg was hurt. His past football injury had been aggravated and he wasn't moving to fast, and I could tell that he was the Tanks target. I froze momentarily, unsure of what to do. The Tank had completely ran (stampeded) by me, Coach trying desperately to get away. Nick and Rochelle couldn't get through the horde that had surrounded them, not daring to take the Tanks kill.

I took a deep breath, holding it in as I looked around desperately. The rain now came down in a thick sheet, but I could still see the breath-stopping scene before me.

"Hey! Come on! Come get me!" I yelled, firing a few bullets into the giants back. He came to a dead halt, swivelling my way. He stood there for a moment, unable to decide which on of us he should take. The injured slower one. Or the smaller, weaker one. I bent down and splashed some water at him, kicking a stone his way.

"Come on!" I yelled again, crouching low, then jumping back up, trying to aggravate him. Which really wasn't that hard.

He looked back and forth once more, deciding that he wanted something more worth the chase. He roared, lifting his arms and beating them down again, running towards me like a giant angry gorilla. I turned and ran, pointing the gun over my shoulder and shooting at him twice.

"Ellis!" I heard both Rochelle and Coach, but all I could do was run. If I stopped it was death. They were too far away to help. And I had no intention of giving him the chance to turn around. My best shot was to make a break for the swamp, the deeper waters. I ducked as a chunk of concrete flew over me, the heavy rain stopped for a second before it fell like a wall again, the concrete smashing a few feet in front of me.

I cursed under my breath as I jumped over it and looked behind me. The Tank was closing in, I could feel the vibrations from his massive arms slamming into the ground. My heart began to pound as my legs felt more and more like they were about to give way.

/

I fell to the ground, my sides burning as the cold air barely seeped into my lungs. I was flat on my back, almost completely under the muddy water. The rage-filled roar broke through the tree line nearly as fast as his arms knocking them down.

I rolled over quickly, my side getting some feeling back, and I was sure my left ribs were broken. Although it may of just been my mind telling me to stop.

I had been running for over an hour. My legs were burning nearly as bad as my abused lungs. I stumbled, unable to move quickly in the thickening mud. My gun had long ago become useless, but it was still clutched in my hands, in the hopes that it would some how be of use.

I was fortunate enough to slow him down by running through thicker clumps of trees. The closely compacted objects took him longer to go through. And I was able to slow down just a bit.

I clumsily rolled over a fallen tree, the moss covered trunk sliding me over quicker then I thought. I landed on my hands and knees, wiping water from my eyes. I tried to get back to my feet, but my legs were so exhausted I couldn't make myself do it. I fell back down, panting hard. A sharp stab ran up my side with each staggering breath.

I rolled painfully out of the way as a giant fist came crashing down. A small wave of water washing over my body as I scrambled to get to my feet. I had to force myself. I had to keep going so he wouldn't go back.


	5. Of Hunters and Help

I rolled down the muddy hill, not seeing it in time. I fell head over heels as the rain pounded down harder. I hit the muddy bottom hard, knocking the air from my burning lungs. I lifted myself to my knees, looking up to see the Tank standing still. He was roaring to the top of his lungs, knowing he wouldn't be able to make it down the hill without killing himself.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I coughed and clumsily got to my feet, not wanting to stay long enough for the Tank to decide it was worth the risk. I stumbled towards the opposite side of the creek, a loud crack of thunder making me flinch. I collapsed against the side of a slick rock, lifting my hat out of my eyes. I took a shuddering breath, holding my left side.

I couldn't go any further, I was too exhausted. I had lost track of how far I had run. Although I wasn't keeping track in the first place. My body was sore, the shivering getting worse the longer I kneeled in the cold water. My shoulder was beginning to throb. The pain lacing down my back all the way to my left hip.

I dragged myself behind the rock, hoping to find a little shelter from the rain. It helped a little. The ice-cold rain wasn't pounding on my face. But the wind and thunder was strong as ever. But I couldn't keep myself up any longer.

_**Hunter**_

I felt the rumble before I had the chance to hear it. But even the rain couldn't mask the sound of the infuriated Tanks roar. I stayed away, hiding in the water-logged bushes as he rumbled past. _Not liking the rain much? _I thought to myself, reaching up to move my hood back up. The wind kept blowing it down. I sat on my haunches and looked the way he had come.

I hopped out of the bushes, my pants and jacket soaked, but I didn't mind the cold. Sure I felt cold, who wouldn't in this rain? But I liked it cold. I trotted over to the steep hill, knowing immediately that this is where the Tank had been. His fist prints still clearly visible in the mud.

I paced back and forth across the edge, unable to clearly see the bottom. I started to walk down, but pulled my hands back up when the mud gave way. I fumbled for a foot hold but the mud was slick and slid away faster then I could move. My balance wavered for a moment and I fell front first. I squealed in surprise and put my hands in front of me, leaning all the way back on my heels. But the mud continued to slide. I fell onto my side with another yell and rolled into the shallow creek, swallowing a mouthful of dirty water.

I spit it out, lifting myself up. I shook my body, growling in frustration as my hood fell back again.

The smell of a human reached my nose and snapped my head around before I could think of where it was coming from. I hunched my shoulders, lowering my head to get the smell better. Luckily it hadn't been washed away completely by the water. It was recent.

I splashed through the water non-to-quietly, crossing the creek over to a rock that loomed a few feet over me. I looked it over, walking around the back. A smeared hand print followed the side, ending suddenly. I poked my nose in a bush pushed up against the rocks side, moving it over.

I yelped in surprise, lowering myself deeper in the water. A man was leaning against the side of the rock. The bush had been covering his body, which I could see from here was bruised. His left arm was black and blue. His hat had fallen to the ground. His short sleeved shirt covered in mud. A blue tattoo ran down his right arm and up his shoulder, hidden by his shirt. His curly brown hair was matted against his forehead with sweat and rain, a scar ran across his nose.

I stepped forward and examined him closer, unsure of whether he was awake or not. His eyes were closed, but I couldn't see how a human could sleep in this condition. Well, unless he out cold.

I could kill him now. Take him back to my pack. Hopefully making up for what I had done. After all, he was the same man Mitch had been after before I messed things up. But this was also the man that didn't shoot me the moment he had the chance. I poked his shoulder with a clawed finger, getting nothing but the twitch of a finger.

I knew where the safe house was. I could get him there. But I couldn't get him up that hill. His entire body was shivering and cold to the touch. I pressed against his stomach, grabbing his right arm and gently pulling him across my back. I took a few steps, adjusting his weight so he wouldn't fall off. He was definitely unconscious.

_What am I doing. I can't do this._

I walked slowly through the water, heading towards the direction of the safe house. His limp body was colder then I thought, his chest barely moved against my back. I was listened carefully, hoping the Tank wouldn't come back.

_Why was I doing this?_

The hill sloped downward a ways down the creek, giving me a chance to go back to the road that led to a run-off. The mud growing firmer the closer we got to the wet concrete. My claws tapping against it. The man was still out cold and I had to stop several times to fix him over my shoulders.

The rain was still coming down hard and the thunder was growing louder. I could see the run off that would lead to the safe house. But a few infected were in the way and even though they didn't take things from us often, I had a feeling they might try to hurt the man. I couldn't go around, a steep embankment was on either side and the infected were right in the middle. I trotted close to the edge, watching them with a hard glare. They watched me as if they would fall apart the moment they looked away. There was always something unsettling about an infected eyes. The milky white, deer-in-the-head-lights look always made me uncomfortable.

The fact that they didn't blink made it worse.

I growled in the distinctive way a Hunter could, making the two infected back away. They were brain-dead, but they "knew their place" as Mitch said it. I continued to watch them over my shoulder. The man stirred a little at the sound of my voice, no doubt recognising it.

The safe house was close now, the red door was open and a little light filtered out onto the flattened grass. I poked my eyes around the corner, looking for anything bad before walking in, closing the door with my foot and hearing the latch close.

I bent low, grabbing the man's sleeve with my teeth and gently pulling him off. He slid to the floor, still shivering with his face contorted in pain. I sniffed him once again. More to see he was breathing then anything.

The safe house was just that. A small house. A few bedroom doors were still closed, but I smelt nothing. The first thing I found myself looking for was a blanket. The shivering man in tied-around-his-waist-overall was getting paler, but he had lost little blood.

I sat on my haunches and turned the first doorknob, leaning forward as the door creaked open. It was dark, but the moonlight was leaking through the cracks in the boarded window, and I could barely see the blanket on the unmade bed.

I pulled it off with one hand and limped backwards into the main room, dragging it over to the sleeping form. I jumped over him, pulling the blankets over his shoulders. His body jerked violently at the sudden contact, but he fell still once again. I walked back over to the door and placed the metal bar over the holders.

Beginning to shiver myself, I circled twice before curling up on the top of the blanket, tucking my head into my jacket.


	6. Of Ellis and Chip

I scratched my stomach. The now dry jacket had bunched up uncomfortably at my shoulders, falling over my face. I shook my head and yawned, not wanting to open my eyes but decided it would be stupid to walk around that way. I looked over at the man, still sound asleep. He wasn't shaking and he had some color back. He was still on his back and his injured arm was pulled close to his stomach. The bruises were worse then the night before. Nearly to his forearm.

A small bit of blood was still on his palm from a cut on the back of his wrist.

First things first. Food. I was hungry and the man would be when he woke up. I looked around to the kitchen, a single light was still on despite the morning light. Trash littered the floor, food rappers and paper, but nothing eatable. I ventured to the cupboards and opened each one. but the bottom shelves were empty. An empty bag here and there but nothing edible. I twisted my head towards the top cupboards, seeing they were still closed. I stood on my feet, holding onto the counter when I began to teeter to the left. I opened each door, hopping from one foot to the other, but they were still empty.

I whined and looked around again, dropping back to all fours. I looked in each room. One with a twin bed and no blanket, and the other had a small bed with a dark green blanket. Two pillows were thrown to the floor, and a cooking pan lay upturned near the window.

The house was stripped clean. No health, no ammo (not that he had a gun to use it for), and nothing to eat. Not even water. My hood had fallen back but I didn't bother to mess with it. I flicked my head, brushing my bangs aside. I sat down, unsure of where to go from here. I could go look outside. But what if he woke up and left? Well I didn't think he would do that. He was in no shape to run from zombies.

_**Nick**_

"Ellis!" Coach called, opening the door to a flooded house, hoping the Hick had ventured in there. I knew he hadn't, but if it made Coach feel better then what the heck. Rochelle was a few yards ahead, checking in a few cars but came up empty.

"There's no way he got this far." She exclaimed, throwing her arms up. We had been searching all night. Not bothering for the safe house and doubled back the way he had run. "I still think we should check the swamp." She said again for the fourth time.

"We already did Rochelle. You saw the foot steps as well as me. That Tank stopped on that hill. But his foot prints kept going. He probably isn't in the swamp any more." I said, having rehearsed it every time she suggested that we looked just one more time.

I wasn't sure whether he was alive or not. He was a moron but he knew how to watch himself. Well...with everything _but_ zombies. That Tank had stopped. I saw myself. The fist imprints were clear as day, but didn't follow the path of Ellis's boots. But they stopped at the water, and we could only guess he had gone across. I went across, but there wasn't any sign he had been there.

Everything except the bloody hand print on that rock. That's what had really made them a little frantic. The fact that he was hurt and alone raised the stakes that he was dead. Like I said, he was a moron. I wanted to look. But what was the point of looking for something that might be gone?

I ran my hand through my hair and looked around, the concrete and a few cars were over turned, but the Tank was gone. Well I hoped so any way. Coach leaned against a red car, his knee still bothering him from the run in with the very same Tank. I leaned against it as well, out of exhaustion more then anything.

"What if he comes back this way?" Rochelle asked, giving one last look around.

"Well, he will probably go to the next one if he doesn't get turned around. He'll try to find us." I reasoned, placing my hand on Coached shoulder.

"That boy gets himself into to much trouble" He said, loading his empty gun. I sighed and did the same, shooting a zombie that had yet to notice us. The body fell to the ground, nothing more then rotted flesh. I was glad that none of us had to become that. It wasn't something I'd want to happen.

_**Chip**_

I was dragging a health pack in mouth, heading back to the safe house. I had been gone only an hour or so. Searching for any left over materials. Luckily I came across a body. A CEDA body. The last hope for the world was lying before me, blood long ago drained and eaten.

But he still had a health pack.

My hood was still back, my brown hair once again falling into my eyes. The hem of my pants and jacket sleeves were soaked, the rain water still as high as ever. And another thunder cloud was closing in. I trotted down the run off, seeing the red door. I had turned the lights off, not wanting an infected to see that someone was there. I was surprised the electricity was still on at all.

I nudged the door open, kicking it closed and replacing the metal bar. The man was still asleep. In fact he hadn't moved and I stepped forward and poked his head. He grunted, moving his head slightly. I was getting a little impatient.

He had a group to find. I had been thinking about it and I knew they had to be looking for him. But then remembering how the older man had yelled at him, I wasn't sure whether they were looking, or whether they even cared. Either way I wanted him to get up.

I leaned over him for a moment, unsure of whether to role him over or not. The moment I placed my hand on his stomach his eyes snapped open in surprise, his body jerked back as he tried frantically to move away. He cursed under his breath and reached for what I could guess was the gun he no longer had. I jumped back with a squeal, startling him further. At the end of a two minute panic from both of us, he was in one corner and I was in the corner at the opposite side of the room.

He watched me with a cold hard gaze, back pressed against the wall and chest heaving. Bloody hand pulled against his chest.

I was bent low, hood falling forward with my back arched. We sat there frozen for a few moments. Neither one of us sure of what to do. I had only planned to wake him up. Not to have him freak out and shoot me if he had his gun. Although it should have been common sense...

He slowly got to his feet, leaning on his right side, wincing with each breath. His eyes never leaving mine.

"Why don't you kill me already?" He asked, holding his arms open,as if thinking I wasn't real. I sat down in a calmer manner, flicking my head back to remove my hood. He blinked at me for a moment, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey, your that hun'er that attacked...what?" His thick southern drawl sounding more surprised then afraid. I nodded, eyeing the health pack on the floor directly between us.

I stepped forward slowly but he didn't move. I swatted the red pouch towards him, his blue eyes narrowing farther.

Finally he bent down and picked it up. "I didn' have a health pack with me. Did ya find this?" He asked, looking back at me, nodding my head. He looked at his bloody hand. I hadn't paid it any attention since it had stopped bleeding before I had even gotten a blanket over him. "Thanks..." He said, narrowing his eyes and closing his palm.

I was curled up in the corner, watching the man examine his arm. Now that he had removed his shirt I could see just how hard the Tank had hit him. A dark purple and black bruises ran from his chest, up his shoulder and to his elbow. His side as well. Several scratches ran up his stomach. He looked over at me a few times, never turning his back.

He easily threw back three pills.

Once he had sat back down everything was quiet. He didn't talk, and I didn't try too. Finally, after sitting in silence for nearly an hour, he threw the gauze my way. "You should rap up yer' hand."

I looked down, finally remembering the cut on my own palm on the rough ground, along with a scrap running across my fingers. It didn't need a bandage. It didn't hurt and wasn't bleeding anymore.

"It might get inf-...It might get worse."

I stared at him, then back to my hand. I grabbed the gauz and began to rap it around the cut, cutting it with my teeth. The rain had begun to fall again, and a deep rumble rolled across the sky. A flash lighting up the boarded window.

"What's yer name?" He asked, narrowing his eyes as if he knew he wouldn't get an answer. "Can ya talk?" He asked after a second of watching my blank stare. I nodded my head. I could talk. It was only a few simple words, but I could talk. I had lost most my speech when I had gotten bitten.

"Do you _have_ a name?" He asked, and I actually had to think. I had a name, I always have. But I didn't know how to tell him. I looked around, trying to form the right sounds. But the sound that came out was more of a 'mim' sounding growl.

The man cocked his head, unable to make out the noise. I closed my eyes, thinking. I finally stood, walking to the cupboards and reaching in to the empty bags at the very back. I spit out the balled up bag a few feet away from him and sat down.

"Yer names bag?" He asked, a little questionable. I growled and shifted my weight. "chip, dip, Frito,-" He tried, finally stopping when I smiled. This was awkward for me...

"Frito?" He said, his eyes narrowing his eyes. And once again I growled, with a deep frown.

"Dip?...Chip!" He finally said, snapping his fingers.

I snorted, awkward at where he had to go with one question. I rolled my eyes and settling onto the floor.

He chuckled, resting his arms on his knees. "Mah names Ellis." I ran the name over in my head a few times. That's right. I remember the older man yelling at him when he wouldn't shoot me.

With his mind more at ease he began to look around. Walking from room to room. He had a small limp but didn't appear to be in much pain.

Looks like those three pills were a good idea.

At one point I joined him, having already looked through the whole house but didn't see a problem with doing it again. He didn't seem to mind my presence. Completely fine that a Hunter was standing two feet away. But then again he had already gotten it out of his system as much as I had.

He ventured into the bathroom, opening the cabinets to look for medicine and such. He found a half-empty bottle of Advil and closed the door, the mirror reflecting his face back at him. Instantly his hand slammed onto his head with a horrified expression. "My hat! I must'a dropped it!"

My eyes opened wide and I quickly reached into my jacket pocket, revealing the white and blue hat. The tow-truck on the front with a worn blood stain. His face lit up, and placed it back on his head, placing his hands on his hips contentedly, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

><p><strong>I honestly had no idea how Ellis was going to learn his name. Given the rappers laying around, I thought "What the heck..."<strong>


	7. Of Nicknames and Direction

"Come on Pup." Ellis called, looking behind him. I hurried to catch up, bringing my mind back to reality.

It had been three days since we had left the safe house. Ellis, after many three pill handfuls, was feeling better. Although the bruises were still bad. He was one friendly man. After all, I was a Hunter, but he treated me like his friends. He even quickly came up with a nickname. Hence the 'Pup'.

Although we had three days to get equated.

Not long after leaving he decided to start talking. His mouth was still moving, but I had tuned him out for the time being.

"-And so we were stuck in helicop'er with an infected Pilot, who Nick decided to shoot. So we crashed. I don't know how we survived but we did and ended up in the swamp. And we had to go through a hotel because the road was blocked off. And that's where you got Nick.-"

I nodded with a small smile.

"-So we got to the safe house and the next day we were going through the small town and a storm was comin'. We had gotten away from a Tank and he found us again. He was going for Coach but I got his attention. Man, that Tank could run day and night and NOT get tired."

"I wonder how far they went. We had been at that same safe house 'bout three days before so they didn't come back that far if they came lookin'." He looked over his shoulder then down at me.

The thunder and rain had moved ahead. The dark clouds growing darker the closer it got to the bay. Ellis said that the man called Coach had told him before they got separated that it might be a hurricane if the water and wind continued. This place was known to have them. That was the last thing we needed. I could barely swim and Ellis wouldn't be able to move well in waist deep water. I silently hoped the rain would move on.

We had to go the way Ellis had come in order to be heading in the same direction. But we stuck to the road. Ellis stopped at the muddy hill and looked down.

"It seemed a lot smaller when I couldn't see where I was. I can't believe I fell that far..." His voice trailed away, and he was right. I hadn't been able to see either and it didn't seem that far down. Or steep. It was twice as far then what I had previously thought, and I didn't blame the Tank for giving up.

The water had risen as well, almost masking the bushes I had found Ellis laying in. He laid his hand on my head again and gently moved me forward. "Better keep going, don't know how far the Tank got."

We walked on, the day getting brighter with no sign of many infected. With no gun he was reduced to his hands the same way I was when one decided to get in our way. Cars were far and few in between, but when we found one he was always looking for anything he could use as a weapon. He would continue to talk, and I didn't mind. I would nod every once and awhile to show I was still listening, and he seemed happy that I was.

"Nick always tells me to be quite. Rochelle just says its not the best time."

I was beginning to not like this Nick talked about him a lot. Some stuff was good, some stuff not so much. What was wrong with a little conversation? And despite that I saw him yell and take Ellis's gun. What if he needed that gun? He could have used it on the Tank.

"But he isn't all bad. A bit moody but not too bad. A bit of a germaphobic if you ask me. He wasn't happy to be in those swamps. Although he probably didn't want to get his suit dirty which he said several times. Washes his hands enough though..." He pointed out.

We continued on, stopping every once and awhile to search for food and other supplies. We found a health pack and a bottle or two. I found a shoe, and What looked like a pack of stale gum that was empty.

It had begun to sprinkle lightly and I shook my head to move up my hood. Ellis tightened his hat. "The safe house shouldn't be to far now. If I remember correctly" he said, looking around once again.


	8. Of Cars and Thunder

**Ellis**

It was getting dark and I was starting to doubt my navigation skills. We had left the Safe-house about the same time as the first time I was there, and we had gotten to where we needed to go before dusk. Chip was catching on as well, glancing at me from time to time with a worried glance.

I stood in the middle of the road, trying to remember the ambulance we had passed, but not one was in sight. "I need a map..." I said quietly, sighing as I took off my hat and ran my hand through my hair. Chip stood on his legs, arms hanging to his stomach. He dropped back down, looking at me and shrugged. At least he didn't smell anything.

The rain was coming down harder now, falling in a thin sheet.

"Damn." I whispered, beginning to shiver. Chip sat down, whining and looked up at me. Green eyes beginning to fill with worry. He may have had a jacket, but even he would start to get cold. And with no shelter we might me screwed over by rain.

We trudged miserably on, the temperature dropping the farther we went. My teeth were starting to chatter. Both of us were soaked to the bone, and the rain wasn't going to stop soon. By the looks of the moon it was probably passed midnight before we finally stopped. The building were getting closer and closer together and a few cars were scattered here and there. The small Hunter at my side finally grabbed my upper pant leg and dragged me to a blue car. One door slightly open. So there either wasn't an alarm or it had already sounded.

Chip hopped in first, climbing into the front seat and watched me curl up in the back. He let out a few grunts and curled up in a ball, head against the arm rest.

I felt a little uneasy, sleeping out in the open like this. The windows were easily see through and weren't bullet proof. An infected could easily get in. Who ever had bullet proof windows must have been extremely paranoid in my opinion. But yet I found myself thinking that if this ever clears up and things get back to normal, the first thing I was going to buy was a car with bullet proof windows.

I couldn't help but stare out the passenger window, expecting a Tank to crash into it at any moment. The very thought made my chest constrict and shivers to run down my spine. But I knew that Chip would hear anything before it got too close. And the Pup was sleeping peacefully. Sides rising slowly with each breath.

That's one thing he could do-breath-.

The rain came down even harder, blinding me from the outside world. But it was warm in here. My hat had fallen to the floor and I quietly reached down and placed it on my face. I didn't want to think about zombies breaking in throughout the night. I only wanted to sleep.

* * *

><p>A sharp poke hit my side, followed by a few more. I grunted, not paying it any attention. Something whined directly in my ear and the poking went twice as fast against my stomach.<p>

I jerked awake, sitting straight up and reaching for the gun that I had didn't have. Chip had shot back in surprise and had hit the back of the passenger seat. My chest heaved with shock and I looked around for whatever had made him wake me.

It was still dark. The rain was still pounding as hard as before. I looked behind me and saw the small Hunter sitting where my head had been, head turned slightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, chest still heaving. He continued to stare, blinking once. A crack of thunder rolled outside, and I thought I felt the car vibrate slightly. Chip squealed, throwing himself to the floor and shoving under the seat. I stared in surprise, watching the clawed hind feet dig into the fuzzy carpet. He had all but disappeared up to the hem of his pants.

I had never really been afraid of thunder. I actually liked the sound. I never really thought of an infected being afraid of it. I reached down and tapped him on the leg. "Come on Pup."

I laid on my stomach, resting my head on my arms. Chip struggled for a moment to back out and then quickly curled up against my torso, sticking his head under one arm.

* * *

><p>I coughed, shifting on my side. A small grunt met my movements along with a small thump. I turned my head, looking over at Chip. He was still up against my side. But his lower body had fallen to the floor, and he still looked fast asleep. I lifted myself to my elbows, nudging him over. He grunted again and rolled onto the floor, belly up. I stared for a moment, too tired to pick him up.<p>

"Hey, time to wake up." I said, poking his stomach but not getting up myself. His hand twitched and he smacked his lips but nothing else. His hood had fallen back and his brown hair was flattened back against the floor.

I nudged his side a little harder with a limp fist, my head laid back down on my arms. I let my arm go still, not wanting to wake him any more then I wanted to wake myself.

But I knew we had to get moving if we were going to get anywhere. I forced myself to a sitting position and rolled my head, cracking my neck. I looked down at Chip who now had his mouth half-open. Tongue hanging over his cheek and pointed teeth. I sighed and shook his leg, calling his name.

He cracked an eye open and stared at me.

"Come on. We have'ta get somewhere today." I spread my arms and yawned simultaneously with the sleepy infected. He rolled over groggily and half dragged, half pulled himself onto the seat.

The rain had eased and now was a light sprinkle. As I closed the car door the water brought me back to the current situation. We were presumably lost. Sleeping in cars with no food or guns.

I stretched my arms wide as my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten in a good four or five days, and my stomach had constantly been growling throughout the night. Whether it was mine or Chips, I didn't know. Maybe, most likely, both. My side began to throb, a dull headache growing at the back of my skull.

We walked slowly for an hour or so, neither one of us really awake. Very few infected came our way. And if they did I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fend them off. We just walked in silence till the first first few zombies came wobbling out from behind the buildings. We kept low to the side of the road, everyone once and awhile Chip would growl if one got to close, but never showing himself. They would back away anyway, taking the warning seriously.

I pulled my hat tighter, wishing I still had my pistol.

* * *

><p><strong>Shhhooorrt!<strong>


	9. Of Houses and Chargers

**Chip**

I yawned widely, shaking my head to get my hair out of my face. We had been walking with no sign of the safe house, and Ellis saw nothing familiar. My legs and arms were aching from non-stop walking and both of us were getting hungrier.

Being last in the pecking order of my group meant I didn't get much anyway but I still as it was. I hated raw meat and had to force food down. I couldn't ever seem to find any normal food, and I was wishing now that I could.

I smelled the air, a thick sheet of rain kept the smells away. And it began to make me uneasy. The sky was growing darker but it had to be at least noon. The houses were growing closer together and we stopped more frequently to look for any supplies.

The houses were pretty much empty. Broken boards, ruined furniture, and a body here and there was all we came upon. Ellis had found a tire iron abandoned near a burned car, and decided it was good as any weapon. He seemed more focused with it, and we got to moving faster.

"The fuck..."He sighed, tipping his hat up. "I don't even know where we are. We should uh gotten to that safe house last night. Jeez I need a map." He looked in a box under a kitchen table, tipping the contents out.

"Ah ha." He laughed picking up a bag of bandages and a flash light. An empty bottle of water, a piece of string, and two batteries fell to the floor as well, making a clattering noise that made us both freeze. When no screams echoed towards us, we both relaxed and I moved to a back room, weaving between a collapse wall and a dead body.

I pushed open a door, peering in carefully. It was pretty much empty. One wall was gone, revealing a large back yard with a wet picnic table. I was surprised to see the rain diminish a bit, leaving the sunshine and a light drizzle. If it weren't for the zombie apocalypse and impeding hunger, I might actually have thought it was kinda pretty. Peaceful almost.

A rustle behind me made me turn, and I saw Ellis walking my way. "Whad'ja find?" He asked, opening the door a little further. I stepped in first, sitting aside in wait for him to follow.

The low bellow reached my ears before I saw him, the giant arm charging our way. I backed up and shoved Ellis back through the door just as the Charger came crashing through the fallen wall. Ellis fell backward in surprise and I stumbled onto my side. The Charger had broken through the wall behind us and had gone straight through the hall. He shook his head and turned back towards us.

Ellis fumbled to get to his feet but slipped back down, flattening himself against the floor as the Special Infected came barrelling through. I ducked out of the way and jumped through the broken wall, landing in the soggy grass of the backyard. I howled for Ellis to follow, hopefully giving him more room to move. The Charger came running past me, heading back for the human. Completely ignoring me. This time Ellis wasn't able to move in time and the arm grabbed around his torso, slamming him into the rubble underneath.

With a sharp yowl I pounced, flying through the air with my arms outstretched. I landed on the Chargers back, digging my claws into his wide shoulders. He twisted his small head, never letting go of the boy in his fists, and tried to shake me off.

I snarled and began to tear at his back, ripping the stretched overalls on his shoulders. He finally dropped Ellis and reached around for me, grabbing my left leg. He threw me hard to the ground, then at the house wall. The wall collapsed on impact and my body hit the back wall of the room. I fell to the floor with a hard thump as the Charger went back for Ellis, lifting his arm to grab the unmoving form.

I lifted myself up, ignoring the pain in my leg, and launched my self at him again, howling with my teeth bared. I knocked into him, head first with more force then I thought, and we both went rolling into the soggy grass. My hood had fallen back on the first jump and my shoulders were hunched high.

With another bellow the Charger ran at me, arm held in front. I charged him as well, stopping only a few feet away when he froze.

_"Get out'ta here!"_ I yowled swinging my hands at his face. He snarled but backed away, admitting defeat. I continued to hiss till he had disappeared beyond the road. I growled lowly, turning toward Ellis, who had shakily risen to his knees.

I padded over, sniffing him up and down. He coughed, still shaking. I pushed up against his leg, lifting him to his feet. He smiled down at me but I knew he was hurt.

"We need'ta find a place to stop. Its gonna be dark soon." Not only that the rain was getting heavier again. The clouds moved in front of the sun, covering up the peaceful scene I had been staring at minutes before.

We were going to have to settle on another car. I was sure we were lost now. Neither of us knew where we were and Ellis was beginning to doubt that he would find his friends. If anything we would probably die out here. Of course I didn't tell him that.

"Hey, your leg." Ellis pointed out, kneeling down at my side and lifting my leg off the ground. A bruise had formed where the Charger had grabbed me and a few cuts joined it, following the rips in my pants. I hadn't even felt it. But know that he had brought it to my attention it was beginning to throb.

Ellis pulled out a rag from his pocket. I narrowed my eyes. How long has he had that? He wiped the blood from my leg until he could see the injuries clearly, none were to bad. Seeing as we had no bandages anyway, they had been left on the floor, he left it alone. It was only scratches.

Ellis, on the other hand, didn't look so good. His skin had gone pale. I feared that he had been slammed to the ground to hard with every cough. Not only that but he was beginning to limp again. He saw the look on my face and told me he was fine, just shaken up. But that was all he said. Not one story about his friends or some 'awesome' kill he had made once.

We settled on spending the night in another car, finding one that had already sounded its alarm. I jumped in the front seat, waiting for him to settle in the back with a gasp of surprise as I curled up against his injured side.

The rain was getting heavier again, the temperature dropping quickly. Neither one of us could keep the other warm, and we both began to shiver. My stomach growled, painful and empty. Ellis chuckled, patting my head.

"Looks like were screwed, huh pup?" His eyes were closed but I could see he was thinking.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not real happy with this one :**


	10. Of Francis and Belts

I rolled over, watching Ellis closely. The rain water was making him sick. And no food was making it worse. His face was pale, a raspy cough escaped his throat here and there. The rain was still pounding outside. Despite the early sun, it was still quite dark.

I yawned widely, tilting my head back. I knew we had to keep moving, but I didn't want to wake Ellis any more then I wanted to walk in the rain. I sat up, stretching my arms. I shook my head bring my hood forward.

I jumped into the front seat, quietly pushing the door open. I cringed back from the cold rain, hissing lightly. There was no way we could walk today until the rain subsided.

Ellis was still sleeping, now on his side, and I curled up next to his stomach as a dull crack of thunder made me wiggle a little closer.

* * *

><p>"Pup...Come on Pup, we have to get movin' " Ellis whispered, shaking me gently. I grumbled and sat up, looking my friend in the eyes. He was still tired. Dark circles were forming under his eyes. Well, they have always been there but where now more defined.<p>

He placed his hat on his head and sighed. "Lets try and figure ou' where we are. At least then we can get somewhere." I nodded, looking out the tinted windows. The rain had died down a bit, making visibility a little easier. I pressed my nose to the glass, leaving my face print in the cold window. Ellis chuckled weakly, patting my shoulder.

He opened the door to his right while I pushed open the one on the left. I held in a sharp intake of breath as the water made my temperature drop. Ellis motioned me forward, grasping the tire iron in his fist. I stared for a moment, not remembering him picking it up after the Charger attack, or if he had even let it go.

The roads were pretty empty. And if there was a zombie, they didn't notice us through the thick rain, and we didn't make it a point to get their attention. My jacket was doing little against the water, and I knew that Ellis, who had no jacket, was freezing. His whole body was beginning to shake horribly. We had to stop severel times so he could rest. His limbs becoming exhausted.

We still had no idea where we were. The houses were beginning to get spaced apart, and a swampy stream trickled here and there. I was afraid we had gone in a circle, and Ellis was growing impatient. It would be quite awhile before I would hear him talk. And when he did it was more to himself then me.

I finally pushed him under the small porch of an equally small shack, Each side looked like it had been pulled off of a tin can. The ground was flooded but the metal above us cut off the rain. We squished inside, closing the door. Ellis leaned his head back against the wall, letting out a shuddering breath.

"I'm abou' ready to give up..." He whispered, covering his eyes with his palms. I lowered my head, a flash of lightning peaking through the cracks of metal.

I leaned forward and grabbed his pant leg in my mouth, dragging him back outside. We at least had to find a place to rest that wasn't drowning. Ellis groaned and pulled back, earning a sharp glare from me.

Ellis glared back, intent on giving up and dying out here slowly. But I wouldn't have that. I grabbed his wrist and yanked him outside.

**Zoey**

"I hate rain..." Francis complained, running a hand through his short hair. I rolled my eyes, shaking some water out of my eyes. Bill was still trudging on ahead of us, Louis pulling up the rear.

The rain was falling mercilessly. I would be the happiest women in the world if I never had to see water again. Francis continued to complain, making it a point to make it Bill's fault for the _sky _ raining.

I tuned him out, falling back with Louis. The young man was limping, taking a pill or two. The Witch's hadn't caused major damage. The only wound he had was from hitting his hip on the concrete as she shoved him down, but she had grabbed his ankle as well. Bill and I had run her off before she ripped through his stomach. That's the thing about Witch's, they know when to run.

I yawned, feeling my body grow a little more sluggish. I couldn't remember the last time I had gotten more then six hours of sleep. But when ever I had gotten the chance to sleep longer I couldn't do it. I would always wake up, no matter how tired I was.

Maybe it was knowing that it was my turn to keep watch. Or maybe because I knew that anything could happen if I _was_ sleeping. Or PTSD...I don't know.

A crack of thunder made me freeze. Bill chuckled, adjusting his hat. "Damn rain. Always has to come at the worst times."

"I hate rain." Came the distant grumble.

"You said that already." Louis mumbled, coming closer to my left.

"I don't care...I still hate it...Just letting you know how much..." He growled, looking over his shoulder. The sun was beginning to set. The clouds turning a deep red. I yawned again, covering my mouth with my sleeve. "How much further?" I called over the loud wind.

"The map said...hell I have no idea. Half of it was scribbled out." Louis called back, scratching his shoulder.

I sighed and lowered my gun, feeling it gain five pounds. My hair was falling out of its ponytail. Falling into my face and sticking to my wet skin.

* * *

><p>"Gaaah!" Francis called, falling back as a black blur rushed passed his shoulder. The surprised man climbed to his feet, raising his gun.<p>

"Francis move!" Bill shouted. In the time it had taken for Francis to aim, the Hunter had already gotten into a crouching position, crawling forward. He easily knocked the unaware man over into the water with a splash. The gun disappeared under the water with a _blub blub_ before it was gone. Francis frantically tried to push the smaller man off him as we worked our way closer. But the rain and black night made it hard to see what was happening.

With the sound of a snap the Hunter ran passed me, running into Bill and knocking Louis over.

"-The fuck...he just ran off with my belt!" Francis exclaimed loudly, holding his pants up with one hand while flapping the other wildly around. "The med kits were on it!"

"Don't worry. I'll get it." I offered. Heading after the infected.

"Zoey, wait!" Someone called behind me. But I barely heard under all the rain.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Francis...<strong>


	11. Of Blood and Injury

**Meh, short chapter is short but its 2:00 in the morning and I have semester finals today...**

_**Chip**_

I burst passed the Humans, splashing through the water with the belt held tightly in my mouth. My body was soaked. The scuffle with other man had left me tired and cold. But all I could think about was the man waiting for me.

The man that had gotten hurt _because_ of me.

I pushed myself on, leaping over Mitch's body who had been out to kill me, but got Ellis instead. My limbs worked tirelessly against the hard pavement as the house came into view. It was no safe house. It was as broken as all the other water-logged houses here, but offered enough protection. Besides, Ellis could go no further.

I could still here Mitch's howl as he leapt toward Ellis, completely passing me and shoving the young man down to the ground. In all honesty I thought I had gotten away from my group. But whether he followed us or we just so happened to run into one each other by chance, he was still determined to get the man I had stood in the way of. Even if it had been an accident.

I stumbled, nearly choking on the belt before rolling down the incline at the edge of the road I splashed into the mud, frantic to get back to my feet like an injured deer trying to get away from its pursuer.

I flew through the door, knocking it open and slamming it against the broken wall with a bang that made me flinch. Ellis had pushed himself into the far corner, right hand covering his left shoulder. Blood was running down his side and pooling under his left hand. He was breathing hard through gritted teeth, head leaning back against the wall.

With a startled whine I dropped the belt, yanking a health kit off and ripping it open with my claws. I rummaged around for a clump of gauze, crumpling it into my hand and running to Ellis, pressing the gauze under his palm and over his bleeding shoulder.

Ellis gripped it tight, sitting up a little straighter to clumsily rap it around his arm. I hopped back to the shreds on the floor, shuffling through with my finger, trying to find anything else. But all I found were syringes and several pills, but no bottle to go with them.

Ellis sat up a little straighter, pulling the gauze away from his shredded shoulder. I could tell he hadn't looked at his arm in awhile by the distressed curses that fell out of his mouth. My mouth went to a second kit, gripping the cover and ripping it back.

"Hello?" Came a women's voice, making me freeze and grow rigid. A bright light shone in my eyes with enough force to make me squeal and jump back towards Ellis.

Panting slightly, she stepped in, shining the light into the corner with a scared quickness. Ellis gripped my arm with his bloody hand, pulling me to his hip and pushed me down, out of sight.

"Help..." He said weakly. From my position I could feel his quick breathing. My claws stepped into the blood under his side. The feeling made my throat hitch as I whined quietly. Ellis's hand tighten, now at my shoulder. "Shh..."

The women stepped closer, lowering her light. "What...?" She breathed quietly. Her eyes opened wide in something that went between surprise and fear. "Bill!"

She shuffled forward, grabbing the half open health kit and crawled over to Ellis, removing his hand from his shoulder and held pressure with her own. Ellis whimpered, pushing me further behind him. The women's gun had fallen from her grip and was now laying next to his leg. Which he proceeded to silently push away.

An older man, much older then Ellis, nearly flew into the room, holding a flash-light of his own.

"Zoey! What did I...?" He broke away, letting the light fall on the silently working girl. She had whipped away some of the blood, and I could now see that Mitch's claws had cut from behind his neck and all the way down his shoulder. His shirt had become useless long ago, and the gashed nearly went all the way across his chest, bending toward his stomach.

Mitch really wanted to hurt him.

I pushed closer to him, closing my eyes. She still hadn't seen me, and Ellis was still pushing me further behind him. His arm and the wall were the only thing hiding my small bulk.

The older man and sprinted forward, holding a rag against Ellis's neck. A younger man stopped in the doorway, letting his eyes adjust to the dark room. No sooner did another man come barrelling at him, no doubt unable to stop on the slick ground, and both went flying into the air, disappearing in the thinning rain.

"Zoey, get another bandage." The older man ordered, rather calm. Ellis coughed roughly. His body tensing as his exhausted body jerked with the coughing spasm.


	12. Of Friends and Aid

"Shit! Hunter!" The women yelled, lunging for her gun at the other side of the room. The older man fell back, pulling a knife from his pocket as the other two men struggled to get through the door. Apparently neither could decide who would go first.

"No! D-don't hurt h-him. He's harmless!" Ellis yelled, nearly pleading. I whined again, pushing against his back. All four froze. The older man held up his arm, lowering it slowly. The women, Zoey, lowered her gun and the other two didn't move from where they stood.

The man knelled down and got a little closer. Ellis shuffled backwards, pushing me further behind him.

"Its okay kid, we won't touch 'im. We just need to look at your arm." He said, holding up his hands. Ellis gripped my jacket and I shifted out from underneath him, pushing against his good side and purring deeply. He was Terrified to loose me. He was beginning to go into shock, I could tell. I could here the speed at which his heart was pumping, and it alarmed me. The older man had moved closer and was putting pressure on his arm again.

_Ellis held a finger to lips, the growl making my skin crawl. Instinct told me to crouch and growl back. But I held still as Ellis gripped the tire iron and peered around. The growl was as loud as the thunder itself, making me shiver. _

_I knew that growl. Every pack leader had the loudest growl. _

_I arched my back, hissing as my hood fell over my eyes, shading my face. The crouching figure fell silent for a moment before the throaty sound picked up again, a little closer. I could see him, whether Ellis could or couldn't. But he seemed to be relying on hearing alone and he was doing a good job at placing the noise._

_The dark figure froze, water green eyes narrowing._

_**Raaagh!**_

_Mitch flew forward, claws extended as Ellis bent back his arm, ready to fend him off. I lept forward, knocking into the older Hunter's side with a sharp yell. My claws dug into his back as we went rolling into the mud, tugging and biting in an equal attempt to get each other away._

_I was slammed against the ground, the air leaving my lungs and bringing a sharp sting. Mitch raised his hand above his head, a deep snarl covering his face. He brought his hand down fast, cutting across my right arm which I had raised in self-defense. His clawed fingers tearing through cloth and skin._

_The snarl on his face turned to surprised annoyance as Ellis hit him hard, knocking him off of me with a dizzying change in weight. I rolled over, taking a step back against Ellis' legs. _

_I looked around anxiously for the rest of them. There were three more and I couldn't remember seeing one killed. Mitch had sat down, examining a small gash on his hand._

_It looked like he had redirected his attention. But the moment Ellis coughed his eyes looked up, locking on the man but his head didn't move. Giving him a downcast look._

_He snarled, hunching his shoulders and taking a few steps forward, his longer legs stiffening as he got closer._

I jerked awake, Ellis' coughing waking me before the dream went to far. I lifted my head and looked around. The small group of humans were laying here and there. They had put a cabinet in front of the door, and their luck on finding random useful things allowed them to find boards and nails. And the colorful (in more ways then one) man used a broken flash light to board up the open windows.

Ellis had fallen asleep several hours ago. A bandage rapped tightly around his arm and neck. Not once did he let go of my jacket, holding onto it as if I would disappear. Even now I was curled up against his chest, his arm resting against my side.

Zoey would scoot over several times. Mostly when ever he began to cough. I never stopped her, and even though she was wary of me, she didn't pull back if I moved.

The colorful man, Francis, on the other hand was quick to let it be known he didn't like.

Once Ellis had fallen asleep he went to the remains of his belt and observed the rip I had made with my hands. "We might have needed those you know." He growled, motioning to the shreds of health kits.

I huffed indignantly, glancing at Ellis and growling something to myself.

Said man was now sitting in the corner, staring at the blocked door. Bill, the older man, looked to be asleep leaning against the opposite wall. But I found him staring our way every once and awhile.

I laid my head back down, feeling warm and dry for the first time in quite a few days. My ripped jacket still provided protection but no doubt made me look even more like Hunter's like Mitch. And once I began to think about it, the thought made me shiver.

Whatever had happened to the rest of them I didn't know. And part of me didn't want to. Every loud patter of rain made my stomach tighten, thinking that it could be the sound of feet against pavement.

**Rochelle**

Coach walked over to my side. Setting his gun down as Nick sorted through a med Kit. Why he was doing I didn't know. It was pretty well put together to begin with.

I laid the pencil down, resting both hands on the table and staring at the note. Coach sighed and patted my back.

"Don't worry. Ellis is Ellis. An atomic bomb would have trouble takin' him out." He said with a slight chuckle. Walking over to Nick and grabbing the med kit from his hands. "If your goin' to organize somethin', let it be ammo."

Nick frowned, reaching for it again, only to get it pulled away. He scowled stood, grabbing Coach's gun from his other hand. The older man grabbed for it as Nick went for the health simultaneously. They now both had each item in either hand. Neither ready to give up what the other was going for.

"I thought you wanted me to organize the ammo!"

"Ammo! Not guns!"

They both began to tug but neither let go.

"Boys, boys knock it off before I make you check to see if the barrels and trigger work."

After a small scuffle they both ended up with what they originally had and let it be. But my mind continued to move towards Ellis and the note I had gone back to check at least six times. Just to make sure I hadn't missed an important detail. And once I actually believed I hadn't written it at all, and it had been my mind. The thought nearly made me re-write it.

It wasn't till we had been picked up by Virgil that it really hit me. Ellis was still on that dead piece of land. Dead or alive. And we were leaving. Virgil had promised that he would keep watch for the neon sign to go off again.

I had made sure to leave a note explaining the exact details.

I was just glad there was paper and pencil around. One of the advantages of the restaurant that belonged to said sign. Waiter always took orders on paper. If they didn't I would be extremely pissed.

I don't know why, but writing the messages made me calmer. Maybe because it meant that there was still that slim chance that Ellis could be fine and would find it. Coach didn't stop me and Nick would only shake his head. Fixated with organizing the same med kit over and over for days now.

"I'm just glad that hound wasn't with the others. Although I also kinda wish he was. Would of blown his brains out..." He commented once. And I knew he was talking about the Hunter nearly a week ago.

And it was true. We recognized the group once they attack a second time. Nick was a little mad about it, wanting his revenge. But got the satisfaction of killing the female Hunter.

Coach had stopped limping a few days ago. And it would have been worse had a Ellis not risked himself. None of us-even med kit Nick-wanted to leave him behind. But there wasn't a lot we could do if we couldn't find him and he couldn't find us.

Come on Rochelle. Don't want the sun to go down do ya?" Nick called, stuffing the med kit deep into his pocket.

**Chip**

_My claws ripped through Mitch's jacket, straight to his chest. He yelled and snarled, tugging at my jacket. I finally worked my way to his abdomen, ripping at his stomach and ribs._

_He stopped struggling. Laying pitifully on the concrete as I shakily stood off him. Ellis was clutching his arm, laying on his side and groaning in pain. My blood soaked claws left my hand prints on the ground. Only to be swept away by the small river running down the road._

_I nuzzled my way under his good arm and lifted him up. Trying to move him towards the nearest house._

I opened my eyes. The sound of rain had disappeared. My eyes were blurry and felt rather heavy. I sighed and lazily looked around, eying the youngest man, Louis, as he walked quietly around his sleeping friends.

Noticing my sluggish movements, the man turned my way and smiled faintly. "I've been hoping you'd wake." He whispered quietly, walking over and kneeling in front of me. Slowly reaching for the bloody rip in my jacket sleeve.

I had tried my best to ignore the sting in my arm from Mitch's cuts. It wasn't to hard considering I had practically gone numb. But now, as he gingerly pulled back my sleeve, I could see that the skin was swollen. Raw from my jacket rubbing against it. And it not only stung but now burned.

Louis rapped gauze around my arm, gingerly laying it back down. He seemed as comfortable around me as Zoey, and I didn't mind.


	13. Of Rats and Paper

_**Ellis**_

I sighed, laying my head against the cold wall. My arm laid across my lap. Chip had his head under a few boards that had broken off from the inside wall that used to connect the main room to a small bedroom. He had been chasing rats all day. Bringing each one over-about seven total- and dropping the dead rodents in a pile next to a small fire Bill had fixed together.

He figured that the fire would kill anything they had. Even though I had nearly very little over the pasted week, my stomach turned at even the smell. I knew it couldn't be the rats themselves. I had eaten them along with mice when I had been with my original group.

I had eaten probably two bits before I had to stop in fear of being sick. Bill said it was probably from the pills, and once they settled in my stomach. I knew he was probably right. Coach had given me pills before and often they didn't stay down long. So the fact they didn't come up was good in its self.

The loud smashing of glass made me look over at where the small Hunter had disappeared. Climbing through a hole in the boards. I stood shakily to my feet and walked over to the bedroom door. Holding onto the wall for some support.

I looked around the door frame into the dark room, with only a little light seeping through the boards. A small plate was scattered on the floor. A large box lay over turned over several pieces of wet paper.

"Chip?" I called. The room staying quiet for a moment. I flinched back as the box moved forward the froze again. "Chip, are ya under there?" I asked, kneeling down with a small wince of pain.

The box moved forward a greater distance. Sliding over the floor closer to me. I shifted out of the way as the box continued on its way. I chuckled slightly as it ran into Francis, who was sitting still, watching the object with a raised eyebrow.

"I hate moving boxes..."

"Physically moved or moving on their own?" Bill asked, watching the square object with slight interest. Bill didn't answer.

A small grunt echoed through the sides, moving backwards and spinning around to the left. Moving closer to the fire. Zoey put her hand out, stopping the box physically. Another grunt and the controlled box moved backwards until it smacked the wall. A high pitched howl muffled from underneath.

I limped over and grabbed the open bottom, lifting it with one hand. Chip was hunched over a small rat, arms and legs tucked close to his body. His bright green eyes wide with innocence. I grabbed the rat by the tail and tossed it with the rest. "I think we have enough fer know."

The others had become comfortable around him quickly. Only when he pounced or growled did they flinch.

"How far from the bay are we again?" I asked for probably the third time. I kept forgetting.

"You actually got pretty close. Only have a days travel if we move fast." Louis answered, throwing another board into the fire. "Do you think you can travel tomorrow?"

"Pretty sure. I'm feelin' a lot better." Which was pretty much the truth. After a half overdose on pain pills I began to feel better. Chip was already ready to move. And it had only been a day. It was a small miracle that I was walking now. But I was a fast healer.

Chip moved to my side, holding a cooked rodent that Bill had given him. He had caught food for all of us and hadn't eaten any of it. And like usual he didn't like it raw so Bill cooked it. He gnawed on it hungrily, legs laying out to the side, hood down. His brown hair had fallen over his eyes and he didn't take the time to brush it aside.

I sat and watched him for awhile. I looked over his features, completely human or not, He looked young. I was 25. Well maybe 26 but I had no idea what month it was let alone what day. He didn't look older then fifteen. The thought that someone so young loosing everything and becoming what every non-infected person would kill made my stomach tighten. Chip didn't deserve what happened. His gentle nature now-as an infected-made me wonder just who he had been, and who he still was. His loss of speech made it hard for him to have anything other then a yes or no conversation. I realized all I knew about him was his name.

I sighed and snapped my fingers, getting his attention almost immediately. "Can ya still write?" I asked, shaking my hand. He cocked his head, swallowing the piece of meat in his mouth. After he seemed to understand what I had asked, he lifted his left hand and moved his finger. Showing he was still capable of holding a writing utensil. But his hands had still taken a paw like shape and I wasn't sure just how well he could write the actual words.

I stood and walked to the bedroom Chip had found his box and I shuffled for a dry piece of paper. The ground was slight damp so I couldn't look there. A few pieces littered a bed and I grabbed all of them, seeing that they were dry. Now I hoped that there was a pencil. What house didn't have a pencil?

And sure enough, our luck of finding useful thing in this house didn't fail me. And I found a sharpened pencil on top of another box that had been marked 'fragile' on the side...ha.

I walked back into the main room, five pairs of eyes watching me. I sat back down next to Chip who shifted closer to my side to see what I had. I lifted my leg closer to my chest and placed the paper against it and handed him the pencil.

"What's your last name?"

He read is slowly and looked up at me. Green eyes meeting blue. He scribbled letters onto the paper and leaned back when he was done.

_'Chip Moore' _

I smiled. "Ellis Bradshaw."

He seemed to understand my reason for the paper now and wiggled with the eagerness of another question. I chuckled.

"How old are you? How did ya get infected?"

He stared at the paper for a moment, a look between uncertainty and anxiety creeped over his face. He seemed to be thinking it over before he slowly grabbed the pencil.

His hand moved slowly over the paper, the scratchy letters thoughtful. He passed it back to me, a careful smile on his face. I suddenly felt sorry I had even asked. It was clear he had gotten bitten. I didn't need details if he didn't want to give them. But he didn't hesitate to hand it back.

"_14. You turn into what you get bit by."_

I nodded slowly. That made sense. He wasn't a carrier like me-at least not completely. And I was rather close on the guess of his age. Although it was still too young in my case. But age didn't matter any more.

Zoey leaned down next to me. I hadn't even known she moved. She took the paper and read over it several times. She reached over and brushed aside his hair. He let out a sound between purring and chuckling, laying down against my leg.

Zoey sighed lightly and rested against the wall. "You said you were lost."

"Yeah. I meant to go the same way as the others. But I never foun' the safe house. After that I had no idea where we were." I answered, closing my eyes and breathing in deeply. The pain pills were starting to wear off and the sharp sting of my shoulder began to quickly radiate down my arm.

She sighed again, yawning loudly.

I coughed, gripping my side a little harder. Chip lifted his head and placed it against my arm.

* * *

><p>"Come on Francis!" Bill called. The younger man had stopped at a car-the fifth so far-making us stop each time.<p>

Chip was walking beside me. Every once and awhile he would walk around the other survivors, seeing if they had anything to say. I kept quiet like I had for the entire week. I realized that for once I had nothing to say. Nick would be happy about that.

But I was sure I'd have a knew story by then.

Louis was walking to my left. Sometimes asking if my shoulder hurt. Since Francis' belt was broken-Chip did his best to say sorry-Louis was carrying the health kits and pills.

They just so happened to have an extra gun. And Bill let me use it. The cold steel was comforting. I never really thought about how much more stable I felt with a gun. I was aware of Chip growing rigid to be in front of any of us. Probably afraid to accidentally get shot.

Every time I felt a little guilt rise in my chest. I had always killed any Zombie without thinking about it. I didn't care after about the hundredth one. But now, every shot I fired at an infected rang back as a Hunter's yelp. I had to look back to actually make sure he wasn't laying in the mud with a bullet through his head.

I had shot plenty of Hunters. And plenty had gotten me before I had the chance. I could have easily killed the Hunter that hurt me. But I found myself aiming for his side instead. I couldn't see well over the rain, and I was afraid that the Hunter in front of me was really chip.

So the first familiar growl I heard made me grow rigid, and I actually lowered the weapon.

"Hunters around." Louis whispered, glancing at me then to the small teenager at my heels.


	14. Of Vests and Theifs

I could see the crouched figure slinking passed a few cars. Crouching underneath one to get closer. Chip moved forward, doing his best to stand on his feet alone. His shoulder was nearly level with mine, and I realized he wasn't as short as I had thought.

And he was slightly slouched.

His hood was forward, something he was doing often now that he was exposed to the cold. My breathing hitched in my throat when I looked at him and thought back to the Hunter from before.

Chip had looked like a Hunter then, And he looked like one now.

I never wanted to believe he could be what I feared. And it made me lower my weapon even further. I never realized what he was till I saw another of his kind.

The strange Hunter, in a deep brown jacket that was nearly torn to shreds, pounced from the car to a nearby truck. Completely passing us and the flying bullets. I narrowed my eyes and raised my gun to my shoulder, looking down the scope and focusing the cross-hairs.

My stomach turned as it stepped from behind the F-150 truck, long legs stretching behind it the way Chip's did when he looked excited. I held my breath narrowing my eyes and the face under that hood.

It was a women. Not a man. Like the one that had tripped me on the stairs when we were back at the swamp. But this wasn't the same girl. Chip shifted next to me walking backwards.

_Chk-ch_

Bill walked in front of me, pulling back on the bolt of his rifle. I stepped back quickly and put my hunting rifle down.

The shot rang across the empty road, making me flinch.

The older man turned my way, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

And it was Nick all over again. Whether the old man said anything at all. And that reminded me of something I had meant to ask.

Chip walked ahead, circling around the group twice. Hood lifted once again, walking closer to the dead women and looking her over before sprinting back to me.

"Where are ya guys goin'? I asked, pulling the gun strap around my good shoulder. I had never made a point of asking in the short time I had known them.

Francis yawned, brushing Chip away when he went to playfully grab his sleeveless vest. "Well, we were heading towards a forest that led to a church. Once we got through there, there should have been a Military hold out. But, we came to realist its smart to read what people write on walls."

"So yer goin' to New Orleans?" I asked, flexing my left fingers as they began to go numb.

"Yup. Don't know where else to go then there. Isn't that where your friends are going?" He asked, shooing Chip away again, who had now gotten a frustrated look on his face.

"Yeah. Every CEDA Center we got to was abandoned. The last hold out we heard of was up in New Orleans." Chip reached for his vest again, getting a loud curse from the man. Who swatted at him like a fly that wouldn't leave.

Chip jumped over his back, grabbing the gun slung over his shoulder and yanked it over his head. Francis was frantically reaching to grab it back, but Chip merely jumped off. Semi-automatic in his mouth.

Francis let out a string of curses, chasing after the teenager who had taken off seconds before.

"Get back here and give me my gun you little thief!" He shouted, running in a large circle on and off the road. Chip pounced on top of a turned RV, taunting the older man with his own gun.

"Ellis!" Francis yelled, jumping for the Hunter who was out of reach.

Now they just looked liked two children fighting over the same toy.

"Naww come on, he just wants to play with yuh." I told him, holding my right hand up innocently. Francis glared. Chip chuckled.

"Fine-Pup give it up..." I called halfheartedly, motioning for him to give the weapon back.

Which he promptly dropped. Earning a frustrated groan from Francis who snatched it up quickly. "What's to play my ass!"

* * *

><p>"Do yuh have any more pain killer in that bag?" I asked, flexing my hand again as my arm began to sting. It didn't really hurt until the pills wore off. Although I was pretty sure I shouldn't be doing everything I was.<p>

Louis gave me two which I swallowed dry. The bitter after taste coating my throat and making me cough. Chip looked at me in a self-effacing manner, steering clear of a still-steaming Francis.

The bandage that had been rapped around my shoulder and neck made my arm feel unnaturally tight.

I had found a faded gray shirt in a drawer back at the abandoned house. My original one torn beyond repair. It was a bit big but it didn't bother me. It made my shoulder feel a little better.

I waited for the pain-killers to kick in, looking around at where we were. Which I haven't done in some time. We were getting closer to the docks. The rain beginning to fall lightly.

It had stopped for quite a few hours, but no doubt would turn into a storm again. But for now I was enjoying the quiet, none of us had really started a conversation, finding nothing to say. The sun was beginning to set, the cloud covered sky turning a soft purple.

"We should be getting close to the Safe Room now." Bill said, looking around apprehensively. Each Safe house was in route to a CEDA evacuation Center. So if you followed them you would have a good chance of finding the military. Well if they were even there.

Before we had entered the swamp, we had to go through an abandoned city. An Evacuation Center was said to have been placed in the mall.

And there was one. But it was no help to anyone let alone four people. Every CEDA Agent was either dead or turned. Or they had given up and left.

Francis walked a little closer, clutching his gun closer to his chest and glaring down on Chip who grumbled something unintelligibly.

"With any luck, the CEDA Center won't be over run. I'm sure you know how _faithful_ they've been in the past so don't get your hopes up." He said, pushing Chip down as he pushed against his side and bit at his gloves.

I looked at my feet, knowing that Coach and the others would be going to New Orleans. Whether they were there or not I didn't know. But knowing them like I did, they _had _to be okay.

"GAH! He slobbered on my arm!"

_**Nick**_

I stretched awkwardly, lifting my pistol above my head and yawned. Coach shoved a Zombie back with his crow-bar, the rabid creature squealed and stumbled, shot back down by Rochelle.

"How much farther?" I complained for the third time, feeling the fatigue beginning to drag me down.

"Nick, I'm not even kidding. Don't start that again." Rochelle scolded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Well if you would just answer my question..." I whispered, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

We had arrived in New Orleans a day before, resting in a Safe House before starting off. A man named Virgil had brought us on his boat. Seeing it as the only way to not be attacked by the infection.

Rochelle has left a note for Ellis at every Safe House so far. Running into paper just as much as random ammo piles. Virgil promised to ride around the Docks for a few days, having no set destination of his own, and would wait and see if the Southerner would show up.

I stepped over a dead body, paying it no mind as I was tempted to ask Rochelle another question just to piss her off.

"Hey Nick, you still think the Helicopter will be made out of chocolate?" Coach asked, thinking back to a joke I had made when we first met about the rescue Helicopter.

And about his weight. Although I didn't tell him that. But he had understood the meaning anyway.

"I could care less if it was made out of dog shit as long as it could fly." I laughed, earning a half-smile from the young Women ahead of us.


	15. Of Boomers and Bullies

_**Chip**_

"Francis! Don't do that!" Zoey shouted, pausing where she stood.

Francis had lifted me up, wrapping an arm around my chest and pulling my hood forward down to my chin, grabbing the strings on either side to pull it closed.

I yelled loudly, the most human noise I had made in an hour. The man grabbed my legs and pulled them above my head, flipping me upside down. I stretched my arms forward blindly, trying to find the ground in case he dropped me.

"Put him down!" Louis and Ellis scolded at the same time. I growled and kicked my legs, my left ankle still in his grasp. I flailed awkwardly, pushing against his arm with my one free foot. He scoffed and dropped me suddenly, saying something in a whisper to himself.

With my hood still closed I rolled over helplessly, legs in the air as I fumbled to get some air. A pair of hands grabbed my arms and pulled me upright, pulling down the suffocating piece of clothing. I looked up to see Bill, looking at Francis with a small grin.

Ellis brushed the dirt off my shoulder and turned to Francis, a deep frown on his face. But Francis was laughing.

"What? He wanted to play so I played with him!" He said, holding up his hands innocently.

"Play, not bully..." Ellis trailed off, grabbing the gun he had dropped on the ground.

"Well he started it! He went for my neck!"

"He went for your gun strap." Bill said calming, pushing the younger man forward.

I chuckled quietly to myself, staying well behind Ellis. The older man, now in front of a smiling Zoey, stuck his tongue out at me. Which I didn't hesitate to mirror back.

"What are you, two?" Bill shouted, smacking Francis on the back of the head, not seeing that I had made the face as well. Although Ellis did, smiling just as brightly.

"I swear, if you want be that way then I will make you hold hands the rest of the way to the shore!"

_**Rochelle**_

"Aww great!" I shouted, throwing my arms above me as the loud call of the horde echoed down the desolate street. The flesh-hungry infected turned the corners and jumped over the fences in a small wave of forever-running zombies.

"I _knew_ it was to quiet!"

The historical laughter of a Jockey made me freeze, trying to see under the stomping feet for the hunched over, mutated infected who came sprinting around, jumping over several cars and disappearing.

" 'bout time!" Coach Hollered, swinging his crow-bar at three zombies. All falling back with the powerful blow.

Nick pushed me forward as a Smoker's tongue shot past my ear, grabbing an unsuspecting zombie instead of rapping around me. We both shot in his direction simultaneously, the cloud of foul smoke erupted above the roof where he had been standing.

"Jockeys got me!" Coach yelled, his weapon dropping to the ground with a clang as the small zombies pelt onto his shoulders, and began to steer the bigger man closer to the horde.

"Ten buck says it takes him to the right!" Nick Hollered, sprinting over and whacking the cackling zombie off Coach's shoulders. It dropped to the ground and jumped for Nick, who swiftly kicked its chest, shoving it to the ground. "Better stay on the ground ass-hat!"

I continued to shoot the infected away, the maimed bodies flying back into the the others.

_Blarg-ch!_

I looked behind me, looking over Nick and seeing the swollen form of what had probably brought this horde here in the first place.

"Boomer!" Coach shouted, pushing back more zombies. We had to kill the gurgling Special Infected before it got to close. If it puked or exploded more zombies would come, drawn by the horrid smell.

"Now _that _is my ex-wife!" Nick laughed, having quite a bit of fun. I was sure that if Ellis was here, he would have called that same statement.

The horde was beginning to thin out, bodies falling where they stood like so many hordes we had finished off before. The Boomer was still dodging our bullets, every once and awhile he would show his boil covered arm, only to duck behind another building.

Coach was still whacking away at the last few as Nick and I walked a large circle around where the bloated man had shown himself last. The man squealed, waddling out from behind the upturned car with a louder wail.

I froze and aimed, holding the semi-automatic rifle still, squinting through the cross-hairs.

"Rochelle, you make this shot and I'll kiss you." Nick chuckled, aiming with his pistol at the same target.

"Don't say that. I'll want to miss."

_**Ellis**_

"Yeah, you better hide! Sweatshirt wearin' wuss!" Francis said angrily. Throwing a wet stone at Chip, who had retreated to a nearby tree.

"Scrawny little bastard keeps trying to get my gun!"

And it was true. Chip was consistently going after it, throwing Francis to the wet road more then once. At first I wasn't sure why, but now I was sure Chip was just wanting to make him angry. Smiling when Francis reacted, but always retreating as to not get hurt.

The others were ignoring them for the most part, turning a few times to watch Francis fall front first into a puddle.

Chip nimbly climbed from the tree, now quite a distance behind us. He sprinted over to me with a few short growls, aiming for his next pounce.

Bill turned to look at us, a disapproving frown on his white bearded face."Will you two knock it off. In case you haven't noticed were trying to get somewhere."

"The poster-child for Depends has spoken. Lets go!" Francis chuckled loudly, making Zoey and Louis turn with a humerus smile. I couldn't help but laugh myself.

"This has been the longest day of my life..." I said, looking over at a now-standing Hunter, who was looking over my shoulder at a clump of bushes.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be milking cows by now?" That time it was Zoey, raising an eyebrow.

"I've never had a cow! I had a plant. But then I remembered I can't keep uh flower alive for mah own life..."

with a large yawn I looked at the sky, the sun now falling below the houses covering the horizon. My shoulder was beginning to hurt again. The dull sting traveling down my arm.

"Ah ha!" Bill exclaimed, sprinting towards the familiar red door. With a heavy sigh I followed, pulling my arm closer to my chest. Chip jumped away as Francis drew closer, gun clutched between his arms.

I was glad to see a dim light glowing from the kitchen, a small light hanging from the ceiling. Chip came in last, slinking passed the older man and sitting against the wall with me as Louis closed the door and placed the security bar over the door.

"Tomorrow we should get to the shore. What we do from there we'll have to figure out." Bill said, leaning against the wall opposite from me. "You said your friends were goin' the same way. So if they made it then there should be some way across it."

"Sounds like a plan." I gave a small thumbs up, leaning my head against Chip's side who had settled himself on my left side, Francis on my right. I didn't think Francis would start an argument, but Chip must have.

Either way, it became rather quiet. Chips even breathing lulling me easily to sleep.


	16. Of Boats and Hordes

_**Really long chapter :3**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chip<strong>_

The shore was close now. The waves crashing distantly as the wind began to pick up. My hood was pulled forward, covering my cold ears. Ellis shifted his hat, which he hadn't taken off since yesterday morning.

"Spitter!" Louis whispered hoarsely, the high-pitched screech of the woman mad me hiss. Her hideous form sprinting passed a house or two. The glowing green goo falling from her mouth and leaving a hissing trail behind her.

"How many does that make today?" Ellis asked, aiming carefully, waiting for her to come back out of hiding.

"That's the second Spitter, no Hunters...well...other then Chip. I don't know where that Charger went, and I can't hear that Witch any more." Zoey answered, keeping a pretty good track of every Special Infected we ran into.

There had been no Smokers or Tanks but they were usually spaced apart pretty well. Chip had been the only one able to get by the Witch. She had been slumped over, sobbing into her clawed hands right in our path. Her white-gray hair covering her eyes, so we had to find her by sound instead of the glow.

I had made her angry, making her slowly rise and begin to walk towards me. But she didn't seem to go for other infected like she did to any of the Survivors. She seemed to only want me out of her space as she sluggishly scuffled along my path , sobbing and sniffling when I would stop. Once I had drawn her across the road, Bill and the others ran passed quietly. I circled around and met up with them. The woman growled as she came back to her original position but not coming any closer.

The Charger came at us once, charging passed but never turning back to try again. We heard his warped growling here and there but it was distant.

As for the Spitters...

"Head shot!" Ellis shouted, the loudest thing he had said in several days. The small puddle of burning acid pooling around her body as it fell to the ground in an awkward lump.

"Say it a little louder. You might get three more..." Francis jeered, walking over and sticking the toe of his boot in the green muck, which sizzled but was no longer destructible.

I scoffed and continued ahead, stopping next to Bill. I could hear Ellis and Francis talking. Something about water. By the sounds of it Francis couldn't swim. Ellis on the other hand began to tell them about his friend Keith. Another thing I hadn't heard since we first met.

"This one time, my buddy Keith was going to jump his car over this bridge. I wasn't to sure about it but I raised it any way. Hey, did you know cars can float? I didn't but I do now and-"

"Ellis, could this wait till later?" Louis asked, receiving a large smile from the younger man. "I actually missed that sentence."

/

"Were here! Come on children." Francis called, pointing to the grey mist that was rising above a restaurant named "Burger Tank"

Well, that's a nice name.

Several caution cones were placed around the building, a truck with several bags in the back, sat unmoving in front of the door. We came closer, guns raised, heading for the doorway. A few Zombies tore around the corner, a few exiting the building, jumping through the window instead of the wide open door.

I walked ahead, the Common infected freezing with a few sour wails. Arms slightly outstretched. They believed these people were my kill. And the Common never stole from the Special infected. It was just the way things had become. Even with the world in shambles there was still a small balance of power, almost invisible to most but still well defined.

I had thought about it before. The uninfected humans, mostly the military had no idea how to handle this. There attempts had all but failed. They had no real order, causing panic in every city. The chaos would have made people over look what the real problem was. And that real problem was disorder.

It would all turn into a chain reaction. The military didn't handle it right. People didn't know what to do and therefore got to close to those who were sick.

Now, when there was very little anyone could do about any of this, things seemed to fall into order. Tanks and Witches at the top. Smokers, Hunters, and Chargers in the middle. Then Jockeys, Spitters, and at the bottom, the Common.

Where the uninfected stood in that, I couldn't tell. Depended on the person. The people like this group, that had lasted so long, would be above the Tank. It had been easy to tell who was below the Common early on.

People wanted to believe the Government could help them. But when it mattered the most, they proved they barely could.

I ran that through my head as the pale woman stared at me with milky blue eyes. The pupils freakishly dilated but still waiting for permission.

That used to be me. At the bottom, waiting for someone to tell me what to do like I didn't matter. And part of me wanted that woman to pass by me, run straight at the others so that they could shoot her. And I wouldn't have to be responsible for what ever she had coming.

But I knew she would wait, however long depended the little patience she still had. But she stood still, along with a second who suddenly burst through the door. A man.

I growled, moving a little closer. They both glanced at the uninfected viciously, lips-or lack of-pulled back in a hungry snarl. A gun cocked, shooting once, then pulling back again. An empty shell dropped to the pavement. The woman's body fell to the soggy ground, head splattering in pieces against the wall behind her.

The man swerved his head violently around to face the body, then jerked our way, screeching loudly.

_Bang!_

/

"Okay, look around for any things we can use. Louis, Francis, go see if you can find a boat or something." Bill commanded, opening a closet door only to find it empty.

Ellis was standing still, his head down and back turned. I walked over, standing on my legs alone and leaning against the table. He had a piece of paper, worn but clearly readable. A small smile crossed his face. "That's Rochelle..."

He handed me the paper walking over to Bill quickly. I looked at the paper, quickly written words scrawled across it.

_Ellis, _

_There is no way to get across the lake on your own. The land is connected but its miles away and will take you days to walk. A man named Virgil picked us up when we came by one his boat. He promised he would hang around the shores and wait for the restaurants light to shine. There is a switch on the side of the building that turns on the big sign on the top of the building. But be careful, its very bright and loud. It cuts through the rain easy so the infected will come. Then wait by the docks. If Virgil is still there and sees it, he will pull up and help you._

_Really hoping to see you soon and I hope you are OK,_

_Rochelle, Coach, Nick_

Bill was now looking over my shoulder, eye brows furrowing together as he read the words. Ellis was helping Zoey clean through the kitchen for any food that may still be hidden. I went to join them, jumping right through the kitchen window.

I landed on the steel counter. My claws tapping on it lightly. I walked over the stoves and stood my Ellis, taking out a few empty bags from a cupboard made of the same steel. Ellis closed it roughly, clapping me on the shoulder and walking past. I kinda wished I hadn't looked into the reflective metal. The image that came back didn't look like what it used to. My eyes were still green, but the dark circles around them showed just how little sleep I really got. It was a wonder I could see at all with how long my hair was getting. It was below my ears at the longest.

My cheeks were getting hollow from lack of food. My jacker hung off me loosely and nearly showed my collar bone.

I half-smiled weakly into the image, trying to brighten it a little. But it remained dull, tired, changed,

Infected.

How was I to know that this wouldn't be what the military saw if we got that far? These people trusted me, but the ever-understanding CEDA will most likely see different. I nearly got shot by every person I've met so far. And CEDA had a lot more guns.

But I had five people to protect me. And in the back of my mind it felt like enough.

I jumped down, wishing I could walk on two legs alone. Well, I could but only a few steps. I felt like an animal on all fours.

Even Ellis looked different. I had never really thought about it, but all these people had changed along with everything else. And there was no way things would go back to normal. Maybe very far into the future, but people will never have the same security. Will never believe the Government can help them in a time of need. Those who have survived this far will ever get to attached to those around them again.

I began to think, I was attributing to this. Or at least people will see it that way. Maybe I will be shot.

"Comin' Punk-ass?" Francis asked, walking past the door with his gun slung over his shoulder. I chuckled meekly, following after him. The back door was open, the rain coming down a little harder. Bill was waiting for me and Francis. The others circled around in an odd oval.

"Okay, so if that note was correct and that Virgil guy is still here, then if we turn on that sign, he should come. But that sign will surely attract zombies. So we'll have to fight them off."

"What if this guy doesn't come?" Louis asked, reloading his gun and handing Ellis some shots out of his bag.

"I don't know." Bill answered, chuckling quietly.

"I hate your plans Bill." Francis said, but didn't argue further. "Who's hittin' the button?"

I made a small noise, bringing my presence back to the man's attention. He motioned for me to go ahead, not paying much attention. I circled around, walking around the building until I found the blue switch. The long cable running up the wall and disappearing over the brick ledge.

I stood on my legs and fiddled with the clear box, seeing the key hole but no key. I leaned back and then forward, slamming the heel of my palm into it. The glass cracking but not shattering.

These people really took their restaurants seriously.

I hit it again, the glass finally gave way. A few shards broke off into my hand, stinging, but my mind was elsewhere. I grabbed the handle and pulled it down. The light illuminating above me almost instantly. The sound of the back-up generator began to hum loudly from somewhere inside the building. The light seemed to cut through the dark rain as if the sun had shone itself.

I ran back around to the docks, the group of Survivors had spread themselves around. Not to far that they couldn't help one another, but not so close that a Charger or Tank could take them out.

I sprinted over to Ellis, standing on my legs once again as the horde roared. The Infected came pouring over the road, screaming and howling past the sign and straight toward us. They came over the fence surrounding us and a few fell into the water.

Ellis and Francis hollered excitedly. Shooting rounds into the Zombies. The infected began to fall, splashing into the deep puddles.

"Smokers got me!" Zoey shouted, the long tongue rapping around her stomach and pinning her arms. A few Infected began to swing at her, beating her sides.

That's one thing about these Zombies. The rarely bit people. If they did it was usually unintentional. Zoey kicked out her legs, hitting one against the hip and another in the chest.

She fell to the group, the tongue slackening and falling behind her. The Smokers body fell from its tree. The boil covered man's head falling in pieces.

"And _that _is how you kill a Smoker!" Bill shouted, shooting the few Infected that surrounded the younger woman. I beat away several others, the Zombies began to swing at me, enraged that I would stop them.

_Hooooonk!_

I swivelled around to the water. A bright spinning light breaking through the water's mist.

A boat! It really had worked.

I screeched loudly. The others apparently hadn't heard the boats horn like I did. Ellis turned to face me, yelling to get Bills attention.

The boat was pulled far enough away that the Infected couldn't jump it, but just close enough for us. Bill shot his gun twice, getting the attention of the two other men.

A man was standing at the back of the boat, shouting for us to hurry. Bill pushed me toward the water as Ellis helped Zoey passed a few more Zombies.

The man helped her up as Francis and Louis grabbed Bill and me, Ellis coming up last. Shooting the last Infected that came screaming at our heels.

The man had disappeared up front as the Survivors shot the last few Zombies that still remained. The boat lurched forward suddenly, nearly rocking me off my feet.

Francis collapsed against the side of the boat, panting just like the rest of us. "Good job Crazy-legs" He said, giving me a thumbs up.

Ellis sat next to him, patting the floor next to him. Inviting me over. The man stepped back out onto the deck, running his hand through his hair. He looked to be middle aged. Maybe about Francis' age.

"Phew. That was fun." He drawled. His accent just a little less thick then Ellis's.

"Thanks for savin' us." Bill said, catching his breath.

"No problem. Always nice to help. Are any of yer names Ellis by chance?"

* * *

><p><strong>Phew. Took me a day or two...<strong>

**I am currently in the process of reading over my earlier chapter and am doing my best to fix them. I have to completely re-upload the chapter so I am going to read it all over before I do that. So if anything needs to be fixed later on it won't be more complicated then it needs to be.**

**I love Hunters...I'd be the first to get eaten in a zombie apocalypse because I would hug a Hunter (real or not) the moment it pounced me...**


	17. Of Kisses and Worries

_**I'm sorry it took so long to update and sorry if this chapter isnt very good. I have a spacific thing that I want to happen but I dont want to make it rushed and I didnt know how to get it to that point. So now that I'v gotten over the block...**_

_**Nick**_

"I still can't believe you kissed her." Coach laughed, stepping over something burned. Rochelle was still swishing water in her mouth and spitting it out.

"Hey, I said I would didn't I? If she didn't want me to, then she should have missed."

"It was a Zombie, Nick. I wouldn't have purposefully missed if you had proposed to me. I would have just shot you next." She said, spitting water close to my feet.

"I had to keep my word."

Because of the impending horde coming closer I didn't kiss her until we had gotten to the Safe house. It was an eventful night...

Coach laughed again, clapping me on the shoulder. We weren't moving real fast. Taking our time to get anywhere. Rochelle stopped every two minutes to gargle more water.

All I did was kiss her...

"How many days has it been since that Tank ran off?" She asked, still thinking about Ellis. If he was moving at the same rate as us then he should be getting closer. I didn't tell her he may not be coming at all.

"Well. We stayed at that Safe house for a few days because of Tons-of-fun's knee. We stayed at two more. That's four days. We got to the docks, stayed on Virgil's boat for one day. Then we stayed here twice. That's like seven days." I answered, thinking it over.

The days were blending together and it was hard to tell them apart. It had been a week. But I had no idea what day of the week it was. But it felt like a Sunday. I would just go off that.

It had been rather quiet. We had only met the horde from before and one more as we neared the Safe house. A Hunter or Spitter here and there but they weren't a big problem from a distant.

I ran my hand through my hair. It was falling in my face a lot more often. My stomach growled painfully. I only ate a cracker or two when I woke up along with some water. Even that had lost taste, and it had no taste...

It had been a little over a month since I was on top of that burning building with three people I didn't even care to know in the middle of Savannah. Now I was in New Orleans, wishing those three people had never become two. I actually wouldn't mind a Keith story right about now.

_**Ellis**_

I quickly wrapped a strand of gauze around my leg. The Zombie had torn right through it under my knee. The wound was numb. If it wasn't for the blood flowing to my ankles I wouldn't have even known.

Chip was batting a plastic bottle across the deck. Playing make shift soccer with Louis. Virgil sat across from Bill, exchanging information about something I wasn't quiet aware of. Zoey looked to be half-asleep on the bench. I didn't even know where Francis was.

The shore was close now. The sun was just starting to set over the distant stretch of land. It hadn't even been a day since Virgil picked us up. And we were already about to start off again. The channel was smaller then I had originally thought.

Virgil said the others had been fine when he had seen them. Albeit injured but otherwise okay. That made me perk up a bit, knowing I could very well find them soon.

I yawned widely, leaning against the bench Zoey was laying on. The plastic bottle hit my knee. Chip stopped a few feet away, expecting me to throw it back. I tossed it over, watching the Hunter leap for it. He missed by inches and Louis caught it, setting it back down and kicking it towards the make-shift goal.

I laid my head back, the dull throbbing behind my eyes becoming much more apparent. I began to drift into sleep, a warm body pressed against my side after a minute or two. Everything had gone quiet. The small waves pushing against the boat was the only sound I heard.

I never quiet fell asleep. I stayed half-awake, not aware but not oblivious to everyone sitting around me. That was how I usually slept. That was how we all usually slept. We were lucky to get a simple nap. When you've seen the things we've all seen it becomes impossible to convince yourself that you wont be killed in the time it takes to sleep for even a half hour. Because in the back of your mind you would know it was an easy lie.

Even on this boat, were no zombie could reach us I was still alert (sort of), waiting to hear a screech or howl. Because I knew I would, even if it was distant.

Someone shook my shoulder, making me jerk in surprise. A groggy grunt came from Chips direction. Virgil froze, looking at me with an apologetic smile. The middle aged man motioned for me to follow him as he slowly stood.

"Sorry to scare ya young'un. I need to talk to you" As he whispered I looked around, seeing everyone else had dozed off. I got up slowly, the feeling starting to come back into my injured leg. I followed the older man around to the front of the boat.

He put his hands on his hips and looked almost solemn. "Ya know that keeping that boy with you is a bad idea."

I nodded slowly, looking at the group of napping people. Resting my eyes on Chips form. Curled up in a tight ball, my hat tucked into the pocket of his hoodie.

Oh yeah. That's where it went...

"Its dangerous boy. They want to wipe out this infection and they cant do that if he is alive." He whispered, following my eyes.

"I know. But he has a small chance with the military. Small but real. He would just die out here...I haven't known him long but he's still my friend. I cant just leave him..."

He sighed quietly, looking at his shoes. "Well, I cant get in the way of what you want to do. But you know this can get bad. You cant just expect them to decide he's harmless you did."

"I know. I've thought about it a lot. I don't know what I'm going to do but I'll stick to what's worked so far," Virgil watched me, waiting for me to say the rest.

"Guess and try..."

_**Nick**_

"Don't come near me Nicholas!" Rochelle commanded, holding her arms up.

"I wasn't even going to! Coach is closer to you then me!" I laughed, a little hysterical that she was still mad about it. It was just a god damn kiss! And I only did it because she made the shot...

Coach was finding this all very funny. Bringing it up at random points in the day just to make us argue. Because just the base of what it was about was amusing. Even to me.

It was just starting to get dark out. A few street lamps flickered here and there but it was mostly dark. I didn't mind the dark. I was never afraid of it. But the infected did a good job of hiding. Ever since we had been in the mall I had never gotten over the infected combined with dark places. The only light had been from the sky lights. Every mannequin looked like a zombie and our flash lights only reached so far.

That's when I learned to never go ahead. Ellis took his time with reloading and I was getting agitated, so I just simply walked ahead. It had been dark through out the whole compartment of the store and my flash light wasn't working.

without thinking about what could be in there and having grown inpatient and tired, I just walked through,

Right into a horde of Zombies.

I hadn't seen a single one and actually walked into the first, which let out a blood curdling cry.

I shook my head and looked at Coach. The older man looking around solemnly.

"Witch!" Rochelle hissed, flicking off her light.

"Where!" I shouted, suddenly blind and confused. Coach slapped his hand over my mouth and turned my light off with the other. I looked at him indignantly but now doubt heard her cries.

Coach moved his hand away and raised his gun, walking forward slowly. Rochelle and I stayed close behind, forgetting about the imaginary, thick, red line she had drawn.

The crying grew louder, almost deafening. I knew she was close but I could not even catch a glimpse of her slumped, sobbing form.

**The Horde/Flashlight/dark thing was based on a true event when I used to play with my brother. He had died and I was on my own with the Bot control teammates and I was like "Woo! I'm in charge now!" (because I always follow my brother). So in my moment of boosted ego I rn ahead and into a dark hallway. Without turning on my flashlight because I didn't think I would need it. And then a horde spawned IN THAT HALLWAY because I had gone to far ahead -_- Friggen Bots just stood there...**


	18. Of Cars and Attacks

__**3,623 words...my longest chapter yet. (its 5:30 in the morning by the way)**

_**Ellis**_

I stretched and yawned, wishing I had a cup of coffee to wake me up. I had always woken up early. Well, except weekends, but not _this _ early. Bill said it was good to start off early. You could pick up more ground.

Well it didn't matter if we woke up earlier if we moved slower.

Virgil had dropped us off yesterday night. Wishing us good luck and a fair well. And he said it while looking warily at me. But Chip didn't seem to notice and was now standing on his feet next to Zoey who was fiddling with his hair. It seemed to bug her more then him that it was blocking his eyes.

She finally let him go and he walked over to me, resting against my leg, running his hand through his hair to mess it up again.

Bill handed me a clip for my gun and gave a few crackers to both Chip and me. Francis was sitting on the pavement, looking at a piece of paper. Louis came over and looked over his shoulder.

"Phase 1 complete." He whispered.

Francis snorted. "Ha I wonder was Phase 2 will be. Phase 1 sucked shit."

"Well what was Phase 1?" I asked, taking the paper.

"Exactly Horse Boy." Francis said, snatching it back.

"I told ya before. I never had a horse..."

/

I yawned for the eighth time, dragging my feet. Aside from waking up early I hadn't slept too well...neither did Francis who was walking slower then me.

Chip was a ways ahead, skipping passed pieces of rubble. He looked over his shoulder a few times but didn't slow. Francis began to complain that he was showing off.

Showing off what? Wanting to get to the next Safe House?

But every word of complaint seemed to make the teenager walk faster purposefully. Even circling around the group and smirking at the older man.

"Little Punk Ass is just having fun now!" Francis exclaimed, attempting to grab him.

Bill just pinched the bridge of his nose and walked on. Followed by the rest of us. "We'll leave the children to play...What street are we on?"

Zoey's jaw nearly dropped to the pavement. "_You _don't _know?"_

Bill stopped and turned and looked at her, shaking his head and holding his arm out. "Your the one with the map Zoey."

"Yeah but your the old guy. Don't old guys know a lot of things?" Francis chuckled, patting the older man on the shoulder and walking ahead. Bill raised an eyebrow and glared.

Chip chuckled and ran after Francis, biting at his vest. The man grabbed him by the back of jacket and pushed him to the ground. The Hunter began to kick his arms and legs as he was lifted into the air with a sharp howl.

"Francis, put him down." Zoey barely commanded, knowing Francis would whether she yelled or not.

"yes, yes. Always nice to be put down!"

I froze, tightening the grip on my gun. Francis hand snapped open, and Chip fell to the ground.

"Hello?" Zoey called, shining her light around even though it was mid-day. Chip ran ahead, crouching next to a turned car with a hard howl. I didnt think much of the sight at first. Lots of cars were smashed and turned. A hysterical laugh erupted from the hole the car had been tipped into. Almost instantly Bill ran after Chip, who was running around the beaten vehicle with a few human-like whimpers.

He looked as if he was about to jump in, and I quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him. Looking down at what he had seen made my heart fall. A wall of anxiety seemed to push me down. I had never had that feeling before and wanted it stop. All I could do was turn my head.

The man was still laughing.

Half of his body was underneath the car, almost cut through completely. His blood was splattered against the metal and the crushed road underneath him, and it still seemed to be flowing. His face was blood covered and blood was trickling from his mouth.

And he was still _fucking_ laughing.

Bill didn't hesitate to jump down, motioning for us to stay where we were. The man was suddenly startled, his breathing almost none existent. It surprised me he could even giggle.

"The big ones! Their huge and their not far! No, no their not. I know it! Their here!"

"What Big Ones?" Zoey asked, kneeling down. "Tanks?" She asked, looking at me with a bit of fear.

"Tanks? Yes Tanks, what a nice name. But their not nice, no their not. They don't like us and their here! Oh yes, yes"

"Shh! If their here then you need to be quiet." Bill hushed, motion harshly for us to watch around. That I didn't hesitate to do. It was quiet, very quiet. The only noise I could hear besides the man's dying laugh was Chips muffled words. Which I could just barely make out as,

"I can, I can, I can."

I had heard him 'talk' before. From whatever I could understand he never really finished a sentence. Either that or I just couldn't catch it. But from the worried tone, I knew that the dying man was right. And Chip knew it too. He could smell it.

And I felt panic rise up through my chest. The distant roar through rain echoed in my head and faded away. I really wanted to get out of here. Something didn't feel right. Either that or the growing panic was playing with my head. This man had lost a lot of blood. He couldn't possibly be thinking straight.

I shook my head and looked back down at the car. Louis had now positioned himself next to Bill, trying to keep the hysterical man quiet in the case he was right.

God, I hoped he wasn't right.

Zoey and Francis were looking around nervously. I felt my heart beat quicken. The low growl vibrating through me whether it was real or fake. And for once I felt fear against a Tank, and I couldn't even see one. Nick would hound me for being a baby...

The man was now coughing, the horrible spasm motions seemed to make more blood flow to the ground. Bill opened his palm toward Louis, who handed him his gun...

It was easier then just waiting or leaving him here.

/

_My head hurt_. That's all I could really think at the moment. Well that and I was tired. Francis reminded me about that every time he over exaggerated his yawns.

Although I truly felt bad for that man, I was glad that we had moved on quickly. If whatever had flipped that car over him and pounded him down was still hanging around, I didn't want to stay any more then anyone else.

And of course I knew what had done more then harm to him. Chip could say the same. In fact he did. And that terrified me.

I now sat on the curb, waiting for Louis and Zoey to finish through a house. Chip was rolling around in a pile of dirt and boards for a reason unknown to me. A leg here and an arm there. Dust flying up in a cloud. He then rolled out, dark brown hair now light tan. A small mouse clamped in his mouth.

Sometimes he was a Hunter in the slight meaning of the zombie. Sometimes he was Hunter in the meaning of the word.

He gave it to Bill-who looked surprised and bewildered-and sat down next to me. Actually sitting up this time.

He _was_ bigger then he looked...

I absent-mindedly curled my finger around a lock of my hair. Not even realising my hat was gone till I scratched my neck. I looked around quickly, finally resting my eyes on Chip. Who was watching me with wide-eyed amusement.

"Hat please." I said, opening my hand. He rolled his eyes and took it out of his jacket pocket.

"You keep dropping it..." Francis chided, knocking it back off my head.

"What do ya mean I drop it? Its on my head." I mumbled back, reaching for it again.

"I don't know. You're the one dropping it."

"I'll do better to duck tape,5 it next time..."

"I'm ti-r-r-ed!" Francis yawned, making me, Chip and Bill do the same.

"Stop being such a whine-ass!" Bill scolded for the fourth time that hour.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Another wave of anxiety washing over me. The very thought of a Tank was making me sick. Why the hell did he scare me that bad? I had never felt this way about a zombie.

Zoey clambered out the window, followed closely by Louis. The door had been boarded up but the window was wide open.

"What took you so long?" Francis asked, reaching for the gun Chip had somehow taken from him in the span of the last 30 seconds.

"Got lost...lots of doors..."Zoey panted, apparently spending more air then intended. "Started to freak out..."

"Okay well, since you're done with your little adventure we should keep going. I'm tired of Francis whining." Bill picked up his gun and slung it over his shoulder.

"Old people are always tired..." Francis retorted.

/

"_Why_ are we always meeting the worst Infected? What the _hell_ happened to the Common?" I complained, shooting down the third Spitter. The empty shell fell to the ground with a hollow _cling_.

I wasn't kidding. Only a few common wrestled their way around the Special Infected.

"You want to know why this has been such a long say? Because Bill wanted to start off _early."_ Zoey said dryly, poking the older man in the ribs. "And still no damn Safe-house in sight."

Bill poked her back.

She looked my way and her small smile got a little smaller. "Hey Ellis, you're sounding quiet today."

"Just tired." At my response, Bill shot a glance my way, waiting for me to blame it on him. But I didn't. Because being tired had nothing against how afraid I felt.

Surrounded by people had no change. I was continuously having visions of a Tank tearing through a few cars, running at us like the outraged monster it was. A few times I thought of Coach. I hoped he was alright. I hoped his leg was better and that Nick wasn't mad at me any more.

And I promised myself I wouldn't piss him off purposefully again. Because it had gone to far for me before. I found amusement in joking around. But I didn't like that look he gave me.

He hadn't just been angry at me for laughing about Chip. He hadn't been mad at me for letting him go. A simple slip was making me think he hated me.

Chip walk in front of me, health pack in his mouth. No one needed that...

I looked behind me and saw Francis, looking through the window of a silver SUV. He didn't have the health pack he had that morning. I motioned for him to put it down, which he did. I walked forward briskly, the boy smiling like an idiot.

"Come on Francis." I called. The man turned and began to follow us, noticing the stolen item. He stuffed in his pocket, not even realising it was his own.

I smiled and looked down at Chip. "Stick close. I'm gonna need some ammo soon, and we have the same guns."

Chip chuckled. Zoey heard us and looked back with a raised eyebrow. Louis made the same Chuckle and didn't bother to give any recognition that he knew what we were talking about.

"What? I was just kidding." I defended innocently. Francis looked up, curious as to just what I was kidding about. I didn't even look at him for fear of him noticing.

So we continued on in silence. A gun shot here and there but it was mostly quiet. It made me feel a little better. As the streets became more empty the houses became more plentiful. Most likely everyone that lived here had gotten in their vehicles and left.

Well that, and the road had collapsed. My mind began to wonder to "Phase 1". Huge holes had been created with such force that the pavement made a spider web pattern. The pieces of man made ground jutted up haphazardly.

Houses were demolished, burned and crumbled. Chip began to dig through the rubble. Pulling up items that could no longer be identified. But he did find a few usable utensils.

After his little digging adventure he returned to my side, shaggy hair tussled a bit more then usual. The sun was starting to get low, the obvious signs of early evening were beginning to settle in. And it made me even more tired. And now Francis was really beginning to annoy me. Yawning minute after minute.

Finally, Bill decided that he would put of out of our misery and we found a small alley to crawl into. It wouldn't be warm, considering that the brick walls on either side had been torn down to only three feet high.

But it was enough. I curled up against Chip. His body temperature was always high, a side affect for all Infected. It didn't seem to bother him one bit and I didn't complain on a cold night like this one.

/

A hard shake on my shoulder and a shaking hand over my mouth made me jolt awake in a panic. Having had a rather graphic dream about a Charger. I tried to push away the dark figure looming over me.

"Shh. Ellis its me!" Louis whispered loudly, holding down my arm with his free hand. "Be very quiet..." He whispered even lower.

We both pushed to the very back of the destroyed alley. Our backs pushing against what felt like wood. Chip leapt into my lap, pushing against my chest. Zoey touched my hand and pointed into the darkness.

The low growl made my throat catch the air that was rapidly trying to escape.

Oh God, no. Please no...

I could hear bones breaking already.

The Tank had positioned himself right in the middle of he road, making deep huffing noises as if talking to itself. I gripped Chip's jacket, pulling him a little closer. A small whine escaped his closed mouth, and four hands slapped over it immediately.

The Tank's head snapped our way, huffing louder.

If there was one thing I had to like about a Tank, it would have to be their lack of senses. They couldn't seem to smell or hear well. And their eye sight was just enough to let them know where their prey was.

Which might be why I had gotten away that night.

Chip wiggled free and slowly stumbled into the dark. I would have called him back if three hands hadn't suddenly moved from Chip's mouth to mine.

He growled a few times, getting the monster's attention. But it didn't not attack. Instead, it mumbled back, taking a step or two back. Chip looked me in the eye and flicked his towards the road. He shook his head and made a weird noise that went between growling and purring.

I grabbed Bills wrist and tugged him forward, pointing toward the road. He gave a silent "Ah" and signed it to the others. We moved so slowly it was literally painful. Crouched so low that the wall was above us. I stepped onto the pavement, not taking my eyes of the "talking" pair. The Tank was calm. Well, he still sounded mean but Chip was sitting still.

Zoey stumbled, falling to her knees with a sharp gasp. Which might as well have been a gun shot. The Tank swivelled around, facing all five of us, walking in a frozen line. He was squinting in an attempt to see better.

And he did. And he stared at me and me alone. I stopped breathing. I stopped moving. I didn't do anything. This Tank _recognised_ me.

He Fucking _recognised _me!

"How the hell..." Was all I could whisper before he roared, raising his arms and coming so close in one stride that it caught me off guard. His giant arms broke the weakened ground, shaking it violently.

And none of us moved. Chip howled and ran straight underneath the giant ape-like man, ramming into each one of us in one run. I silently remembered that all of our guns had been in the alley. And I didn't recall anyone grabbing even a single bullet.

I was knocked to the ground. Chip's sharp claws grazed my arm as he passed, and the others were knocked out of the Tanks very hands.

He slid on the road and turned back sharply, growling and huffing in frustration. I rolled over and gasped for breath, looking over to see him eyeing me again. His muscular arms were covered in bruises and sores. No doubt from doing what he did best.

He came at me again, and the rain filled night filled my head. Coach behind me, Nick and Rochelle gunning down the horde. And a Tank coming for me. Again.

He hadn't caught me then, and he wasn't now. I turned and ran, not even looking to see if he was behind me, because I knew he was. I ran up the road and around the corner, sprinting down the unfamiliar street.

The Tank roared behind me, crumbling the ground even further. For a moment, I felt powerless and exhausted, the same thing I had felt before. But I realised that it was easily pushed out of my mind by fear as a large piece of concrete landed in front of me.

Looking over it, I could see a barrier. Razor wire atop a chain link fence. Two concrete barricades in front.

Some _help_ those had always been. I was now stuck between a Zombie and a fence. The house had fallen over to a point that it would take me to long to change course.

_Wham!_

I flew into the air, right arm stinging in a way I had never felt. The ground nearly knocked me unconscious. Falling from so high. For a moment I thought it had killed me. But the deep pain made me realise I was still here, and for a moment I regretted it.

The ground shook like an earthquake. A deafening roar of anger vibrating through my ears. Looking up, I could see I was facing the big heap of muscles.

The barricade was so close. I almost had the thought of making my way towards it, hopefully slowing the Zombie down. What was I thinking? It might as well have been a wall of glass.

I looked back over, the giant Infected was still on the ground, a small black figure stood on top of him. And for a split second I thought I wasn't seeing straight.

"No...Chip, don't!" I yelled as loudly as I could, standing shakily to my feet. The boy was tearing into the Tanks back, ripping and clawing as the Big Ape roared and grabbed at the ground, trying to take him off.

He seemed to succeed, grabbing the Hunters jacket and yanking him down. With an angry Hunter's shreik, Chip jumped back at him, landing on his shoulder and clawing at him some more.

Chip was nearly my height when he stood. But compared to this Monster he was so small...

He had chosen a bad place to plant himself, as the Tank grabbing him around the middle and threw him, and he threw him hard.

The teenager flew right into the razor wire fence, knocking it back completely and disappearing. I could only guess that the road had fallen away into another crater. The sharp yelp echoed to me. The kind of noise a Hunter made whenever Coach shot and killed one.

I took a step forward and slumped to the ground. The fall having knocked me off balance. The Tank was running at me, roaring. And no one was in sight. I couldn't hear a thing. I was all alone, and I was going to die that way.

I turned to face him, grimacing as he pounded closer.

"Shit..."

I rolled over, his giant hand reaching right over me. I forced myself to my knees as the Tank stopped in confusion, looking at me with a special rage I had never seen before. He charged again, reaching up high.

And he was ready for me to roll away.

I felt his hand clamp down onto my abdomen, slamming me hard into the concrete. For a moment I thought this was a Charger. A mutated Charger. But that wasn't possible. Chargers only had one usable arm.

He slammed me harder with each hit. Whether it was 3 or 13 I didn't know.

"Jesus Christ Ellis!" Came a yell that made the Tank look away from me. But his grip didn't loosen. The loudest gun shot I had ever heard blew into the Tanks chest.

Rocket Launcher.

Where the Hell did that come from?

The Tank dropped me, falling back with a sickening crunch against the road. I fell to the ground simultaneously, rolling over onto my elbows in an attempt to breath. So many red dots were dancing in front of me I couldn't even open my eyes. But they stayed, even in the dark.

"You're welcome you, God damn, hill billy bastered!"

A firm hand grabbed my arm and lifted me to my feet, pushing me away from the Tank. That was now beginning to stand.

**Well Ellis is going to feel real bad in the morning...**

**A little anqsty I think but I figured Ellis really hadn't thought about that Tank much. So what if something brought it up?**


	19. Of Tanks and Headwounds

**Sorry this took a few days. To be honest I don't like how this chapter started off but it will have to do for now.**

**Chip**

The fence tangled around me, razor wire wrapped around my arms and torso. I expected to stop. To hit the ground any second. I hit the jagged concrete hard, suddenly unable to breath or see straight.

This hole was bigger then the others. The barricade must have been meant to keep people from driving down here. And I could see very well why. The drop was at least eight feet.

I blinked to clear my vision, wiggling my arms, but the throw had entangled me tightly. I whimpered at the burning pain in my back, most likely from a blow from the Tanks hands. Even though I didn't remember it.

I pushed myself up with my legs alone, fumbling to break the wire with my claws. But I knew it was pointless, razor wire was nearly unbreakable.

I wriggled desperately, hearing the Tank's roar. If I couldn't break I had to try and pull it off. It was holding my arms down, and it held my jacket down to tight to pull it over my head.

A dull throb was beginning to edge its way from my head and throughout my back, and blood ran down my face, covering my left eye and making my hair stick down.

A loud blast made me freeze, thinking for a moment that the Tank had come back over to me. It was still dark and the collapsed wall in front of me blocked off my view. I awkwardly stood on my legs, shrieking as loud as I could for Ellis.

"Chip!" Zoey called, blowing past a fallen fence. She was on the collapsed road as well, and I could only guess the others were above me somewhere. Hopefully helping Ellis.

Zoey fumbled with the fencing hastily. Pulling back with a hiss when the wire cut her hand. She helped me slip my arms out, pulling the wire over my head.

I pounced back over the road/wall, the fence had completely come down with me. I reached down for Zoey, almost falling over when she jumped and grasped my hand. I pulled her up, hoping desperately the Tank wouldn't see us.

Zoey gripped the pavement and I pulled her the rest of the way up, looking over my shoulder at the fallen Tank, rolling over to get its arm underneath it.

Ellis was no where in sight. Had the Tank thrown him somewhere? I looked around with alarm. He hadn't been in wonderful shape when he hit the ground before.

The Tank stood with a pained groan, standing and swaying just slightly. A bloody hole had carved its way deep into its chest.

The Tank groggily turned our way, arms hanging to its side. I walked away from Zoey, who walked the opposite direction. I growled, hunching my shoulders, feeling another bolt of pain race down my back.

Just then, Francis came around the corner, some way up the street. Gun in hand. The Tank didn't see him since its back was turned. It stared at me for a moment before turning its attention on Zoey, who was standing only feet away. She hadn't retreated like I thought she would.

The Tank roared, charging her way. Her eyes went wide, jumping out of his long reach by inches. I sprinted to her side, herding her away as the Tank toppled over, and got right back up.

They were definitely getting tougher.

He ran at us again, a few gun shots firing into his back as Francis and Louis came running our way. I pushed Zoey, scratching at the Tanks arms as it grabbed me instead. The pain in my back tripled as he closed his hand, holding me so tight I felt the air leave my lungs.

He tossed me over his head, wanting me out of his way. I flailed helplessly, howling as his grip let go completely.

I couldn't even remember hitting the ground. My head was reeling, and I could feel more blood running down my neck.

I had to stop hitting my head...

A sharp ring echoed through my ears, the Tanks roar sounded distant, almost as if I were underwater. The ground shook, making me wince, but not out of pain.

If Ellis had fallen in a similar way, that Tank would have killed him as quick as he was going to kill me. I opened my eyes, seeing the Tank tilt sharply to the left and I closed my eyes again, feeling a wave of nausea.

A Pistol shot echoed, a little clearer then the Tank's pained roar.

"Come on, Chip. Time to go!" Bill whispered loudly into my ear, lifting me to my feet. My vision was starting to level out again, and I could see who had fired the gun, and I could barely recognise him.

Ellis's friend, Nick. The man he often told about when he told one of his stories. The white suited man was still firing his pistol, running in a large circle around the Tank. Bill pulled me aside to Zoey, who now had Ellis's hunting rifle.

The Tank was covered in blood, beginning to swing his arms around almost blindly. The pain in my head and back made me realise just how tired I was, and not that long ago I had been sleeping right next to Ellis.

Ellis.

I had to find Ellis.

I looked around in a rising panic. What if that take had thrown him somewhere, and he was hurt and bleeding?

Nick watch me, lowering the outstretched pistol. "Green-eyes," I looked at him, surprised slightly. So he did know who I was. "Ellis got hurt pretty bad. He's down the road. If you run that way you'll see him."

I nodded and painfully made my way back down the crater. Louis at my heels, who landed a little more graceful then me.

I did what Nick said, I ran down the road and looked in every turn I saw. Finally, about four used-to-be houses later, I turned to see Ellis, leaning against a slightly crumbled wall.

Part of me was mad that Nick had just left him here. But then I remembered that the only infected around was-

No, never mind. I was still mad.

Seeing me, Ellis put on his best smile, but I could see the blood at the corner of his mouth. Louis wrapped Ellis's arm around his shoulders and supported him as he stood. I could hear gun fire, and it made me turn as it grew suddenly louder.

Nick flew down the wall, nearly stumbling. He turned and helped Zoey down, as Francis and Bill flew down twice as fast.

"We should go." Nick said suddenly calm. Like when a child does something wrong, then straightens up as soon as an adult walks in. But no matter how much they try, they still look guilty.

Nick grabbed Ellis's other arm, apologising quietly when he realised that was the arm he had hurt. Francis pushed me forward. Seeing that I was staring back at the upper level of the road.

"What the fuck did you do?" Ellis mumbled, tensing in another wave of pain.

"Well, lets just find a place to hide." Bill walked a little faster. I looked over my shoulders, wincing as my back ached some more. I lifted my sleeve and removed the blood from my vision, remembering I had a headache.

"Bill..." Ellis nearly growled. Zoey was reloading his gun. She must have been unable to find hers. "Well, its not like we can say we killed it."

Ellis looked at her in alarm, but her attention had turned to me. She parted my hair and pulled back her hand, showing it was red with blood.

'Wow. I must have hit my head hard.' I thought to myself, feeling the warm liquid run down my face again. Oh well, I would deal with it later.

"Where's Coach and Rochelle?" As Ellis asked this Nick chuckled.

"Damn Witch ran us half way back to the safe house we had left that morning before we killed her. We figured it was dangerous to travel at night so, we just walked back. Now, I can't really say that I told them I was going outside. Rochelle's going to kill me for that one."

Before Ellis could say anything else, Francis turned a corner motioning for us to follow. At the very end of the narrow hidden street was a staircase that led farther under the ground.

The door was a deep grey, bright red paint spelled out "They left us."

Bright CEDA posters were stuck to the door and the soot covered walls on either side. Each with their own comments.

"Clean hands save lives." - "Fuck that!"

"Fire arms are not permitted" - "Yeah well my foots about to be permitted to kick you in the ass!

"Maintain a healthy state of mind" - "Now there just fucking with us..."

Another was a list of Evacuation Centers. All were scribbled out and overwritten with blue marker. "Mercy Hospital."

Francis chuckled and ripped it off. "These people are too far away to even attempt the hospital. It was over run any way."

"Its where all four of us met when this all started. We went in a complete circle before we got to the helicopter. Then Zoey shot the pilot..." He continued, seeing the look on my face.

"He was a _zombie _Francis." Zoey said indignantly, trying to push the door open with Bill at her side. The door gave with a loud moan. Louis, Nick, and Ellis simultaneously sat against the wall. Each sighing on the same note. I collapsed into Louis's lap, my back began to hurt even worse as I began to relax, the tension seeming to build then slacken.

I must have dowsed off, because Zoey startled me, moving back my hair and placing a rag where the blood seemed to be coming from. I sighed and closed my eyes again, fighting back some nausea. That, and the dull ringing in my ears were signs of a concussion. I had gotten one before when I was ten, because my brother dared me to jump into the pond on our neighbours property. They allowed us to go over but we had never swam to the end. So I had no idea how shallow it had been. I was lucky I didn't dive.

My mind snapped back to the present. I actually startled myself for a second. I hadn't thought about my family since I found Mitch and the other Hunters. Well, he had really found me. My brother and I were boarding up the last windows, since the Military was gone. But before we could finish the last one, a Hunter broke through it, followed by the rest of the pack. Come to think of it, Mitch was the only one that had told me his name. He said I was to speak to them directly, and if I didn't have anything to call them by then it would be that way.

They only bit me. My mother and brother were killed. They then left me bleeding on the floor. Many thought that you had to die to become a zombie. But I was proof that it wasn't true. Sure the Common infected rotted away. Many were thin and wilting away. Some even had skin falling off. They're the dead ones. Without eating they will all die, but they never stop walking.

I had seen it with my own eyes. A man dragged himself across the road, no legs and only one arm. That had burned itself in my mind.

For reasons I could never learn I nearly stayed human. My appearance changed completely but I was still Chip Moore. Even if 'Hunter' was written in there somewhere.

Zoey held the rag where it was for a bit longer. My head felt full of cotton, and I could feel myself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>I looked up the symptoms of a concussion so I woudn't get it as off. <strong>

**I honestly dont really like this chapter :/ I will fix it later...**


	20. Of Fights and Headaches

**A few of you said that the last chapter was a little rushed, and I agree. So I will try and take my time with these next few chapters, and I may go back and add more detail and what-not to the last.**

I opened one eye, looking around the dark room in the field of vision it allowed. It sounded as if everyone else was asleep. The room was completely dark, and it made me wonder just how late it was. We must not have been asleep for very long in that alley.

Ellis was laying behind me, sound asleep. His breathing was scratchy but otherwise he looked alright. Then again I could barely see. My head was still throbbing. The ringing in my ears was a little louder, making it a little hard for me to focus. I reached up to the wound on my head, and felt it was still sticky with blood.

Francis was snoring. Well, it could have been Bill...or Nick...or maybe Louis. Okay, I really didn't know. I had never heard anyone snore before so for all I knew it could have been each one of them.

I laid my head back down, feeling suddenly dizzy. Ellis shifted beside me. Well, it could have been Nick, who was asleep a few feet away. It echoed in here. Either that or I couldn't hear straight. My back felt a little better, a few stinging scratches ran up my arm from the fencing. Zoey must had pulled my sleeve back.

It was weird what could happen in only a few hours. We had just been sleeping in an alley. Now we were hurt and hiding in a dark place. I hadn't really taken the time to look around at what this place was. It would have to wait till morning.

I started awake again, feeling a wave of shock running down my body. Zoey apologised and looked through my hair again, sighing once or twice.

"Well, I guess I can say it stopped bleeding..." Before she could finish, Francis snorted behind her.

It was brighter, definitely day time. A small, rectangular window shun dusty light on us, making it feel like we had just sneezed in a pile of dusty books. Ellis chuckled, talking quietly to Nick.

"What did you mean when you said you hadn't killed that Tank?" Ellis asked, getting another snort from Francis.

"Well, it was more like he fell and knocked himself out. With out luck he bled to death." Nick sighed, "Although I think I saw a family resemblance in Francis."

"Shut up Colonel Sanders."

"I'm just sayin'"

Zoey stood and tossed a pebble at Francis. I slowly stood, feeling my weight tilt to the left. Zoey caught my shoulders as I fumbled to get my leg underneath me.

"I think your North and South are a little backwards." Ellis chuckled. I huffed and righted myself, focusing my vision on the two men leaning on the wall. Both had their legs out in front of them. Ellis's wrist was wrapped in gauze, his grey shirt covered in dust. Nick had bed-head.

The room was more of a cellar. A few wooden boxed were stacked in the corner. More Ceda posters and and graffiti covered the walls. There even seemed to be a conversation of some sort. This wasn't even a Safe House. Although it very well could be.

"_I love Zombies."_

"_Your a moron."_

"_No. Your a zombie *insert funny face here*"_

"_Wow. Its like high school bathrooms all over again."_

"_Can someone hide the pens?"_

It made me chuckle slightly, knowing people could still talk to one another. Even if the same two people would never continue with one another. Ellis followed my eyes, smiling.

"Louis wrote the last one. Nick wrote the one above that."

I sighed and yawned, feeling my head throb a little more. I walked slowly, falling into Ellis's lap. He placed a hand on my head, coughing roughly. "Why didn't you tell Ro and Coach where you were going?"

"It was the middle of the night. I heard gunshots. This place was pretty much free of Zombies so I didn't see much wrong with investigating. Besides, I saw...Bill was it? Figured he needed help. Damn was I right."

"We didn't have much ammo so, like I said, that Witch drove us back. Turns out, there not to fast on uneven ground. Coach finally hit her with the butt of his gun and shot her. He needed to get closer but he couldn't until she began to get tired."

"I don't know. Maybe I just needed to go outside. I would have never guessed you were that close to us." Nick trailed off, looking down at me. I only then noticed his eyes were as green as mine.

Ellis took a breath, deciding how he was going to explain everything. "I don't know how far I ran. But I fell down a hill and just couldn't go no further. Chip found me, that how I met him. We got lost from the get-go. We slept in cars for two nights because I couldn't find that Safe House."

"Another Hunter attacked me. I didn't even see the sucker comin'. All I could do was hide in this crumbling house. Chip disappeared and came back with Francis's belt, which had some health packs on it. Zoey followed him and that's how I met these guys. We went to the bay and Virgil picked us up after he saw the sign. He dropped us off here. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. We barely came at Zombies. That Tank was the first dangerous one we saw."

Ellis had now closed his eyes, tapping a finger on my shoulder. Nick chuckled, trying to lighten the mood slightly. "Leave it too you to befriend a Hunter. And then have the best god-damn luck with him."

I snorted, tapping my finger on Ellis's leg. I felt sleepy, despite my some-what good sleep.

"Where the hell did you get an RPG?" Ellis asked, his southern accent suddenly thicker then I remember.

"Ask Bill. That man can smell any gun within a 100 foot radius."

Speaking of which, Bill and Louis were no where to be found. I lifted my head and tried to see if there was some hidden corner where they may be hiding, but it was just us five.

Ellis saw me looking and placed a bandaged hand on my head. He must have hurt his wrist. "They went to get what we left. Should be back soon."

**Coach**

I stared out the barred window, watching a paper or two roll across the beaten road. Rochelle sat behind me somewhere, sniffling.

"Nick 'll come back. Don't you worry girl. He wouldn't just leave." I looked over at her, slumped against the wall.

"But he did 'just leave' Coach. Why didn't he say anything." The last sentence came out as a sob. She couldn't bare to loose Ellis. She couldn't bare Nick's disappearance any better.

"You know he's been feelin' restless. He probably just went for some air." Of Course I couldn't be sure. But if it made Rochelle stop crying, then that's a good enough reason to say it.

I couldn't believe he would just leave us, not after everything and how far we've gotten. That just wasn't possible.

**Ellis**

Chip had fallen asleep, listening to our conversation, curled in a ball at my side. Zoey and Francis were moving about, each looking out the door from time to time, waiting for Bill and Louis to return.

We were going to have too stay here awhile since Chip and I were not fit to travel, and Chip had a concussion. The only thing we could do for it was to stay and rest for a few days.

Nick sighed and stood, snapping me back to attention. He riffled through Zoey's bag and found his pistol. She watched him bewildered, as he moved towards the door.

"Where do you think your going?" She asked, snatching the gun from his hands.

"I'm going to find our friends." He said indignantly, reaching for the pistol only to have her move back. "Oh no, I am not doing this again." He lunged at her, grabbing it from her hands but she did not let go.

Most people could tell you that having one hand on the handle, and the other on the very end of the barrel was not a safe thing to do.

But Nick was not a safety regulation kinda guy.

"What do you mean again?" She pulled a little harder, kicking at his shins.

"Never mind. Just give it to me!"

"You can look for them when Bill and Louis get back!" She made one more strong pull and he let go, huffing back to the corner.

**Im sure you all know why Nick wasnt going to do that again. Thsi was short but my computer battery hasnt been holding a charge so we ordered a new one and it won't be here until like the 24th or so. So I wanted to get a chapter uploaded in the case th battery died completely.**


	21. Of Dreams and Hats

**Guess who's laptop is out of the hospital :D**

**This is a short Chapter but its really late and I'm really tired. I promise the next chapter will be longer. This is also a little rushed, which I hate myself for doing. **

Bill and Louis came through the door, carrying the guns we had left behind.

"What took ya so long?" Francis asked, snatching his gun from Louis.

"Got lost. Ellis ran two streets." Bill answered, throwing a bottle of water our way. I thought I had only ran one. Must have ran passed one without noticing.

"Kid, you can run." Bill sighed, tossing some magazines to Zoey, since her gun was running low.

"Two years of track in high school. Course, I think that Tank was getting slower." I yawned widely, trying not to wake Chip. Sure there was the fear of swelling in the brain with a concussion, but Lord knows he needed to rest.

That last sentence caught me off guard. It was something Coach would say, not me.

"Yeah, his legs looked pretty wimply." Louis chuckled.

"Wimply is not a word." Zoey corrected him. She reloaded her gun and gave Ellis back his own.

Nick was looking like a pissed five-year-old. Sitting next to me with his bottom lip sticking out and refused to help with anything. Chip was out cold, curled up against the wall now that I had joined Francis in looking through the rubble outside. My arm hurt like hell, and the ACE bandage did little, but I wouldn't let it slow me down. Bill had found the RPG on a dead CEDA agent, who had no doubt been caught in the bombs fumes.

The city of New Orleans had been completely whipped off the map. Some buildings stood, like the ones near the docks, but the closer to the Ocean you got, the more destruction you saw. From our high vantage point I could see that they had left some portion of it alone. It was some ways away, but it was definitely there. A perfect circle untouched around the blurry line of the bridge that would take days if not another two weeks to get to.

Francis was whistling as he dug around a blue tent, a CEDA tent. Which were becoming more frequent.

"Come on Horse-boy. If we don't get back soon, Bill will be mad, and if that happens, we will end up sleeping outside again."

"Again? That was only you, and only because you decided to get bitchy."

Nick was sprawled in the middle of the cement floor. Eyes closed and moaning slightly. Chip was awake and leaning over him. I had never seen Nick, the nearing middle-aged Conman who insisted I was childish, laying on the floor because Zoey had told him off.

Chip was more then happy to see me. Limping to my side and following me to the wall. Zoey had cleaned whatever blood was left on him, and he looked a helluva lot better. He plunked his head on my lap, moaning as his eyes closed. I was tired myself but didn't think I could sleep. Not with Nick whining.

"But they might be worrying. Who knows if they moved on or not. What if they did and we can't find them?"

"Shut your mouth and sit your ass down Nicholas." Bill grumbled, the war veteran easily over powering Nick in the sense of fowl language if he wanted to.

**_Keith whipped his hands on the rag that he had stuck in his pocket. I slid out from underneath Dave's pick-up, which he had nearly driven off the free-way when the deer ran ahead of him._**

**_I whipped the back of my hand on my forehead, well aware of the grease mark that was now spread across it._**

**_"Hey Ellis, ya hear 'bout that flu that's been going around?_**

**_"Yeah, man it sounds like a nasty bitch too."_**

**_"Did you fix yer Ma's heater?"_**

**_"Yeah, just the water line was broke, that all. Could'a swore she did it herself just to mess with me. I've fixed it three times already."_**

**_Keith chuckled as he replaced the tire that had blown when Dave ran over Carmen's fence. "I honestly thought Dave would have learned that those deer like her yard."_**

**_"She still have that apple tree?"_**

**_"I guess so."_**

**_…._**

**_…._**

**_…._**

**_I gripped the table tightly as the world seemed to turn. Keith became a distorted shape of garbled noises that disappeared as suddenly as they started. I was suddenly underneath another car, since Keith hated to sit on the old skateboard that we used instead of one of those fancy sliders._**

**_"Keith?" I called, kicking the side of the car to propel my self into the front room. All was still, not a person was in sight and I thought I had heard a car alarm somewhere passed the street._**

**_I stood to my feet, brushing of my one-piece work suit. Of course I didn't care about the dirt on my work cloths. My hands were filthy. Keith's work boots were thrown into the tool box since it was the only place he could remember where they were._**

**_"Keith?" I stepped outside, seeing that the road was empty. A few cars were scattered but not a person in sight._**

With a sharp catch of air in my throat, I awoke, looking over to Chip on my left and Nick on my right. Both snoring. It was still dark, the moon just barely filtering through the boarded windows. It seemed that the only one who wasn't snoring was Zoey, and I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again if I tried. Whether it was echoing or not I could hear the thunder and the rain falling. Although I couldn't think of a reason it would be echoing. My mind was still playing tricks on me. It had been for the passed few hours.

I thought I heard Coach, and then Rochelle. Followed by Keith laughing about driving his car into the bog behind his property. He thought it was funny, but Dave driving his car into his girlfriends yard was hysterical.

I stared at the ceiling for awhile, watching for the patterns in the cement to change. Even though I knew it wouldn't, it still seemed to go from flat to a square texture. Looking over at Chip I could see he was wearing my hat again. Francis would usually take it from me in an attempt to make me mad, then Chip would take it and wear it until I noticed.

Nick did the same with my guns, but he did both. He would take my gun and keep it, but instead of just snatching it back, I would have to get Rochelle to make him.

I missed when things were like that. When we could pull some humour into an empty, dead world. We still could, Francis did that without fault, but it wasn't the same. I didn't like change, I admit it, so this whole thing has been a bit of a bitch.

**I could be happier with this, but I'm exhausted and couldn't really think "Zombie".**


	22. Of Family and Care

**I wasnt real sure what to do with Francis in this chapter so sorry hes just kinda..._thrown_ in there.**

_**Chip**_

"And, I got a Full House!" Nick exclaimed, slapping down the cards in front of Ellis, which Louis had thrown to them 40 minutes before.

"What? Nu-uh! You cheated!" Ellis whined, looking through the cards again.

"What? I did not cheat! That's how you play cards!"

"What kinda Cards are you playing?"

"The right kind!"

I sat next to Ellis, half watching, half sleeping while they argued. They had been playing for awhile, and yet neither would give up on who's rules were the right ones. Bill and Zoey were looking at the map, trying to decide on what to do next, since it was highly likely that any Safe House from here had been destroyed. The untouched area around the bridge was the last Evacuation Point in New Orleans, or what was left of it anyway.

"It sucks that they had to destroy such a beautiful city." Zoey had said earlier in the morning.

The pain in my back had diminished considerably, not that the cement floor had done anything. My tattered black jacket did little any more. It was to ripped to keep me warm, covered in mud and blood to the point that no washing could get it out. But I kept it on, feeling comfortable in the baggy material. The wounds the razor wire had left on my arms and back no longer stung from the fabric, but instead felt soothed.

"No, see, a Full House beats a Flush."

"Nuh-uh! Ya can't just be changing the rules!"

"I'm not changing anything."

Francis groaned, sitting somewhere behind Bill, nearly unconscious from their bickering. My stomach growled painfully. I couldn't remembered the last time I had eaten enough to be full. The growling was getting so painful, so intense, that it was hard to close my eyes. We were running out of food anyway, and when I was feeling the strength, I was going to hopefully catch something that they could cook. Being Carriers, an infected animal wouldn't harm them much.

Nick and Ellis still could not decide on who was right, but they continued to play anyway. And Nick, being a Gambling Man, usually won, and usually was the start of a new argument.

After another 15 minutes or so, of bickering, whining, laughing, snoring (on Francis' part), and curse words, Bill finally snapped.

"Alright! Come one Nick, were going to find your friends RIGHT NOW!" The old man grabbed his gun and shoved Nick's pistol into his chest.

He looked surprised for a moment, since non of what anyone was doing was aimed at finding Coach and Rochelle, but after a second or two, but easily went along with it. As if it had been his plan all along.

I, along with Ellis, got up to follow. Ellis wanted to help, I wanted to do what he was doing, but we were was stopped when Zoey wanted us to stay. Ellis honestly wanted to find his family, but sat back down non the less. With an anxious man now in front of him, Bill pointed to us before slamming the door.

"If I come back and he isn't with me, I shot 'im"

Everyone I was worried about were called for, so I didn't have that desire that Ellis had to find the last two members of his team. Ellis, being Ellis, grabbed a marker from Zoey's bag, and added onto the graffiti on the wall. Either writing words or scribbling. Ellis, still being Ellis, started talking. Which was something he hadn't done a lot of since we had gotten lost in that rainy town so many days ago.

Keith this, Coach that. Nick did this, Rochelle did that. Nick caught his white suit on fire, my hair had nearly frizzed up like a cat struck by lightning in that swamp.

Francis had slumped over to the left, his tattooed arm spread out as if reaching for something. He was bored, and tired of Ellis. Zoey and Louis had said little over the passed few hours, but I could tell they were laughing silently by the tight grins on their faces.

Zoey noticed me watching her, and smiled warmly. "Ellis, have you cleaned your gun yet? Its gonna jam."

"Oh, yeah." Ellis plucked his gun from the small, crooked table that was pushed to the corner. Taking it apart ever-so craftily, he looked down the barrel and stuck a rag as far as he could get it to go. I watched him silently. At first he was working without giving it much importance, but soon became serious, working over his hunting rifle with a stiff face, moving quickly, like...like Ellis.

"You ever shot a gun before Pup?" He asked, seeing that I was staring. My expression changed to confused and baffled. Why would he ask me that? I was a zombie. Zombies don't shoot guns. He narrowed his eyes, looking at my hands and then at his gun.

"Every kid should know how to handle a gun. Some people say differently, but ya never know..."

I had shot a gun before. Awhile ago, but I had. Not like I need the skill at this point in time. Ellis chuckled and continued to tend to his weapon.

Louis was snoring, head resting against my back and arms across his chest. I was tired as well, but I lay awake. It wasn't that late but it was getting dark already. Then again it wasn't like I knew the time.

Ellis and Zoey were still awake. Francis was out of my field of vision. Well, he wasn't I just didn't care. Ellis was worried. Nick and Bill still weren't back yet, and I had the strange feeling that Bill hadn't been kidding.

Francis began to whistle and laid down for the night. Zoey did the same and she asked Ellis too as well. He settled next to me, sighing quietly, and we curled up to sleep.

_**My brother burst through the door, carrying a thick news paper rolled in a rubber band. **_

"_**Chip, come here!" He exclaimed, shoving our school books of the desk. I jumped off the bunk bed and looked over his shoulder. He had thrown the other sections of the news paper over his shoulder, nearly hitting me, and pointed to the top headline.**_

"_**Flu spreads across Europe. Claims its US fault."**_

"_**Our fault?" I asked, brushing aside my hair.**_

"_**Yeah. The military is already starting to 'evacuate' people, but only the ones who can afford it. They were taking them to Europe because the infection hadn't spread there yet. But apparently they're saying an American was infected when they were evacuated. Europe isn't letting anyone come over unless they have proof they're healthy."**_

"_**What about us?"**_

"_**Mom said we cant go any where because people are having to pay to leave, and its pretty expensive. But the infection is only starting. So its not like were going to die right now."**_

_**The infection hadn't gotten far, but it was already all over he news. Anyone that was getting evacuated had to go through a series of tests that made sure they weren't sick. If someone was a Carrier, infected but immune to turning, showed no signs of the sickness. The only proof was their blood, with had the infected cells. Anyone that was sick had a fever by the third day and was dead by the fifth.**_

_**Problem was, they came back.**_

"_**Boys! Dinner!" My mother called, knocking on the door. My brother cleaned up the papers and we jumped the stairs two at a time. **_

_**Before I could reach the bottom, I was suddenly back a t the top, my brother grabbed my shirt and pulled me into the bathroom, quietly and quickly closing the door. His hand was clasped to his neck, where a deep gash spewed blood to the floor.**_

_**He held his finger in front of his lips and held his breath as the deep throaty growl grew closer to the door. He grabbed my arm and pushed me into the bathtub, closing the curtains and telling me everything would be fine.**_

"_**You get out of here, the first chance you get. Don't stay for anything, you hear me?" He choked out quietly, putting his free hand on my shoulder.**_

_**I nodded, shaking as he close the curtain fully. His identical brown hair and green eyes seemed suddenly darker. I curled up and pushed myself to the very back of the tub, putting a hand over my mouth, because I knew what he was doing, and I didn't know if I could keep quiet**_

_**The door opened and closed quickly, the lock snapping. A loud, echoing yowl made me close my eyes. Something slammed against the wall, rattling the picture above the sink. My brother screamed, and the sound of him falling down the stairs made my shaking intensify. I could hear him calling for the strangers to kill him. He was begging them to leave. He didn't want them to get me, he didn't want them to hurt his little brother.**_

_**All was quiet for a few seconds, and I had the feeling that what ever had intruded in the house had left, but the growling started again, now it sounded like a few more had joined the first. I could tell they were outside the door, scratching the door and the carpet. Finally, the being slammed against the wooden door, rattling it on its hinges. It did it again, only harder, and again, and again. The wood was beginning to splinter and now they were practically throwing their bodies at the door. **_

_**It finally gave way, shattering open and few pieces hit the curtain. I pressed against the facet, the throaty growl turning to a yell as I heard the soup fall, and something hit the mirror. It must have jumped onto the sink. A bulky shadow walked in front of the curtain, poking it at times. It looked like a man, his arms open slightly.**_

_**I held my breath counting to three, the figure snapped the curtains open, yowling in surprise as I leapt out, landing on all fours as my ankle caught the lip of the tub. Half of the door remained on the hinges, the other half was splintered and broken, but I squeezed through as the three infected grabbed at my feet. I clattered to the floor as the man, bloody mouth pulled up hood tried to squeeze out after me.**_

_**Seeing my brother at the bottom of the stairs, unmoving, I jumping over the railing and sprinted for the kitchen, but stopped short when I slipped on my own mother's blood. I couldn't tell where she was, but I knew it was too late.**_

_**A women, also with a hooded jacket, ran down that stairs and crouched awkwardly, growling in a slightly higher pitch then the two men gripping at the railing. A fourth was looking through the broken back door, pulling himself through. I ran toward the knife block, grabbing the biggest one I saw. Turning, I could see my mom pushed onto he counter, half way out the window above the dish washer.**_

_**The four infected had now come into the kitchen, all crouching. The biggest one stood in the doorway, quickly crawling up the fridge and rolled his shoulders like a cat that had just seen a mouse. **_

_**An ear piercing scream made me fall as a heavy weight shoved my shoulders back against the counter. The knife clattered to the floor as he sunk his teeth into my chest, his claw like fingers digging into my shoulders. I screamed as he jumped off, tearing away a chunk of flesh and part of my shirt.**_

_**I fell to the floor and watched him stand with a wide stance. He spit out my shirt into his hand, looking at it and then back at me with a bloody smirk.**_

"Boys. Boys wake up!" Zoey shook us both, nearly making me jump to the cement ceiling. Ellis cursed under his breath as he jumped too, clearly thinking something had gotten into the room.

Rochelle threw her arms around his neck with a sob.

* * *

><p><strong>I like how this chapter came out. <strong>

**My friend got Left 4 dead 2 for her PC and we have been playing for three days straight on Steam. I have only killed like two hunters. Which is mostly due to every single one pouncing me before I even see them :l Is it just me, or does Bill really _sound_ like an old guy...?**


	23. Of Gone and Dead

**I was going to upload this last night but whenever I signed in, a window popped up that said "Windows could not display page" or something similar to that *bad memory***

**With a growing number of people, I figured they woud have some getting-along-issues to start off with.**

**Chip's brother was origninally named "Mitchell" but a few readers became confused between him and Mitch, so I changed his brother's name. If you see any other "Mitchell" 's that I may have missed, let me know, and I'll fix 'em. I think I got them all though.**

* * *

><p>"Nick, you ever run off like that again, and I will chase yer ass down mah damn self." The man named Coach poked at Nick, who was stuffing some ammo into Zoey's bag. Ellis was fixing the bandage on his wrist, deciding that it had healed enough for it to be loosened.<p>

Zoey brushed through my hair once or twice, commenting that she was going to cut my hair the first chance she got. Rochelle was overly concerned on Ellis's health, since it was plainly clear that his health wasn't the same as when they had last seen him. He hadn't even come close to telling her about the Hunter attack, or the Charger. The only thing that was brought up was the double encounter with the Tank. Which had her riled up enough.

She took great patience in introducing herself to me, since I had dashed behind Louis. New people meant another chance to get shot. I wasn't afraid of Rochelle though. In a way she was like my mom, nice and warm. The median between bickering males.

Nick was at least six feet, Ellis just slightly shorter. Rochelle had to have been about five and half. Coach looked around six three, which was why I took a step back. The fact that I stood mostly on all fours, he towered over me, almost like a Tank. But I soon shook that out of my head. This man was exactly that, a man.

Both were delighted to have Ellis back, both slightly mad at Nick but happy to have him too. Rochelle gave him a hug but seemed to liker her personal space, and Nick found it funny.

Ellis patted my shoulder, motioning for me to follow Francis out the door. Our band of nine had to get going. The bridge was at least three days away if we moved quickly, five if we took the normal pace. With so many of us in one group, danger was mostly gone. New Orleans was barren, empty. The bombing had killed a once, wonderful place. But the bridge was still there, and with it was the chance of continuing on.

We didn't get very far before I could already tell, this would be a long walking trip. Francis hated Nick, Nick hated Francis. Rochelle was angry at Nick for what ever reason, Francis was threatening to shoot me, Coach and Bill turned multiple times in five minutes to tell Ellis and Nick to be quiet. I for the most part stayed out of it, but when Francis began to whine, I couldn't help myself, and jumped on and off his shoulders. Louis became angry at Francis and Zoey argued with Bill over what direction we should go. Ellis began to talk and Nick told him to shut up, making the younger man scowl and complain.

Thank God we weren't in a car...

Soon everyone was either talking, scowling, or rolling their eyes. I just watched, perplexed at the fact that none of these people could get along. I can't say I wasn't part of the problem, but what else does a 14 year old do besides get in trouble?

After about two or three miles, Nick, Ellis, Francis, and Zoey were a ways behind while Coach, Rochelle, Bill, Louis, and I stayed ahead. It then became relatively quiet, and Rochelle would smile at me from time to time, almost looking sad.

"What happened to your parents?" She finally asked, and all I could do was stare at her, unsure of how to answer, since I really couldn't.

"He can't really talk." Louis stepped in, ending the awkward stare-off we had started. "Ellis said that Chip had found him. Helped him. He wasn't with anyone. He can answer 'yes or no' though, that's how we usually talk to him."

Rochelle nodded slowly, looking back at me with an even more sorrowful frown. Coach laughed heartily, "Bet the kids just shy."

I snorted and looked back for Ellis, who had turned away from Nick with a deep frown. "Don't worry, they have always fought. We all know its just because they really care for each other."

"Nu-uh!" Both men responded, Ellis walking a little quicker, Nick walking a little slower.

"That's what we said about Francis but turns out, he's really just a little bitch." Bill snorted with satisfaction. Coach chuckled and patted my back, nearly knocking me over.

"Hey Pup!" Ellis called, throwing me glove. Francis' glove. "Run!" Francis shoved Ellis aside and tried to grab my jacket, only to get air as I sprinted up the wall of a fallen building. It wasn't incredibly high, but high enough Francis couldn't reach. I crouched and looked down at him, my battered hood falling over my face. Francis froze for a second and watched me close, but resumed his vain attempts to follow me up.

I used to do this all the time with my brother. I would take one of his belongings and climb a tree, since he had a fear of heights. I remember my mother telling me that one day I was going to hurt myself doing such things, but until then, my brother's jacket was always stuck to a branch.

Francis said a few curse words and turned to the others for some help. Louis brushed it off, Ellis motioned for me to give it back. I dropped the glove, Francis snatched it from the air and held a finger up.

"Do it again and I'll hurt you."

I knew it was a bluff. He was more bark then bite anyway.

All was quiet for another hour or two, everyone had gotten passed the arguing and now had nothing more to say. The wind was beginning to pick up, tossing my hair into my eyes and tickling my nose, which was beginning to burn from the ash that began to float around. The city began to look even more dead then it already was. Ash drifted down from the collapsed buildings, covering the broken and split road. Bodies began to turn up, burned and blackened. One was thrown over the side of a turned car, which was laying on top of a large grey dog. Whether they had been uninfected or not, the military killed them. And the bombs had thrown their bodies.

I could tell people had tried to get to the Evacuation Center by the way neighbourhoods seemed more populated the closer we got. Either that or this had just been a full place, but the thought that CEDA hadn't given them a chance made my stomach turn. A Witches dead body had been twisted nearly beyond recognition. Her grey hair was singed and her long, red fingers were curled underneath her.

"_Dumb Bitch..." _Had been Mitch's response to the Witch back at the hotel that lay dead at the bottom of the pool. But maybe it wasn't her fault that she had been killed. No, it hadn't been. She didn't kill herself. The bodies around me hadn't killed themselves. True a portion may have, deciding it was better then what was outside their front doors. But other people had killed most of them because they thought it was easier.

The same way someone else had killed my family.

Mitch hadn't left my family alive, only me. Because it would be _easier _to get rid of the core that held me together, and without that, I had to listen to him without reason. Because I didn't know what else to do. When I got away, I didn't know where to go or what to do with myself, but Ellis did, which I guess is why I stayed with him. True, he was very good friend at this point, but part of me wanted that feeling that no matter what, there would be a plan B.

But what if the Military was exactly what I saw here? What if they realised it would be easier to just shoot us then have to deal with us? What would the plan be then?

By the time the sun went down, the ash had made even our footsteps quiet, made the sky grey, and gave everything a eerie feeling. I didn't feel right. Whether it was the suffocated feeling that was growing in my chest, or the fact that nothing was making a sound, who new, but I couldn't stop feeling nervous. I began to realise that there may not be a plan B. There may be nothing on the other side of that bridge.

Looking at the people around me, some I new almost nothing about but still cared for, I realised that they seemed happy. Some of them anyway. Ellis was one. Every time he looked at me he was smiling to some extent, but I knew it was mostly fake. He dreaded CEDA nearly as much as me.

But why? He had a larger survival rate then me, he was reunited with his friends, he had a chance. I was an infected, It didn't matter whether I had turned completely or not. I still looked like one. My family was gone, I had no home. Not like anyone of us did, but I knew what happened behind those doors. I saw my mother, and my brother's body. Both were burned in my mind forever.

My brother, Lance, laid at the bottom of the stairs, body twisted from the fall that he hadn't anticipated. Blood falling from the head wound the edges of the stairs had cut into him. Bruised and gone. My mother had been pushed or thrown through the kitchen window. Half in and half out. The glass had broke and had cut into her abdomen that spilled blood over the counter and into the sink. Her legs hung over the side and nearly touched the floor. She had always been tall, contributing to Lance and I's height. Her arms and head were hanging over the side of the window, unseen by me. Her blood splattered the glass that still clung to the window-seal.

I never realised how much a human could bleed until I ran into the kitchen and nearly fell. The once white and blue tile floor was nearly covered in it, and the blue counters matched. It wasn't until after I turned, an agonising three hours later, that I realised that everything was gone and nothing was coming back.

I looked at Ellis again, and the young man seemed to see the sadness on my face, and it looked to confuse him for a moment. For the first time in three weeks,

I felt truly defeated and alone.


	24. Of Jockeys and Bombs

"Okay, we took a...left...on the street...down...there? What was it called?" Zoey asked, turning the map sideways.

"Hell, I don't know Zoey. You're the one with the map." Bill looked over his shoulder.

"Well, it was kinda hard to see any sign under all that stone. Maybe if we go right here..." Zoey bit her lip, looking at me with a pleading look.

"Lemme see the map." Ellis gripped the corner and tugged it out of Zoey's grip. For a moment his features mimicked Zoey's, then he finally gave it back and pointed down the road at the left. I followed close behind, leaning against his legs a little to often, he nearly tripped over me at least three times.

He didn't push me away, he never did. My face must have mirrored what I felt since he looked worried himself. His grey T-shirt whipped around his torso as the wind picked up even further. It was dark now, so sight was a challenge. The dust and ash nearly covered the moon, so it wasn't of much help.

I began to doubt that there was a Safe-house, I figured it was destroyed along with everything else. I guessed we were going to sleep outside, and after the whole Tank ordeal and the flying ash, I figured we wouldn't get much sleep.

Rochelle shrieked and pushed Nick away, the man spread is arms innocently. "What? I just giving an ammo clip!"

"Don't touch me Nicholas!" She held up an intimidating finger.

"I was keeping my word."

"I don't care. It was uncalled for."

"What?" Ellis asked, getting a wide-eyed stare from both adults, Coach began to laugh. I watched him carefully, and the way Nick bit his lip.

"Nick kissed me."

"I was keeping my word! Okay, Overalls, there was a Boomer. I told her that if she shot him, I could just about kiss her. And I kept. My. Word." Nick looked from face to face, narrowing his eyes as Coach-doubled over in laughter, because everyone's expression was pretty close to the same.

"Francis has said he'd kiss Bill for similar things, but he's never done it." Louis flinched back as Francis told him to "Shut up!" and Bill rolled his eyes and walked forward. Ellis and I didn't move, just followed the scene with raised eye-brows.

Coach sighed, placing one hand on his hip. "I think we should find uh good place and call it uh nigh'." He finished with a yawn. Bill nodded his hand looked around. We couldn't sleep in the open. We needed a place that would block the ash and keep us hidden.

I parted from Ellis and walked farther up the street. The best we could do was a wall, and I saw one that would be alright. The house looked to have once been a yellow, two stories. The back corner underneath the stairs still had a portion of the roof, and was connected to half of the once carpeted stairs. I couldn't tell if it was sturdy enough in this wind, but it was good a place as any.

Looking back at my team mates, Ellis began to walk a little quicker. "What'ja find?" He looked at the remaining building, "Hell, that'll do. Over here guys."

The space wasn't exactly built for nine, but we squeezed in non the less. I curled up against Ellis's stomach, tucking my head against Zoey's back, and for awhile, it almost felt as if we were sleeping in a room, listening to a light snow fall. Some thought that snow didn't make a sound when it fell, but I knew it did, you just had to listen.

The floor was dusty and had the smell of an old book. It was getting colder and greyer, but I could still sleep.

"Come on Pup, time tuh get up." Ellis shook my shoulder, stretching his legs now that Coach had stood up. Rochelle kneeled down next to Francis, who was still snoring away. He brushed her off and turned his head. " 's too fuggin earl-..." The rest was an intelligible slur as he went back to sleep.

I followed Ellis to the street, popping my neck and shoulders. Coach sat at the split curb, looking towards the bridge. I walked away from the others and sat next to him. The older man looked at me and sighed. "We' all lost a lot. Who knows what else we'll loose. But you know how I know things will be okay?"

I stared unblinkingly as he chuckled.

"'cuz chil'ren can still smile." His warm smile met my own as his words sunk in.

"Ready guys?" Zoey asked, running her fingers through my hair. Coach put a hand on my shoulder and stood, his large frame casting a shadow over me. I followed them up the road, catching up to Ellis and Louis.

The wind had died down considerably, but the temperature was still cold as the ash covered the sun. Bill had taken the map from Zoey, deciding that she had lost "map privileges". The sky became darker, and it began to smell of rain. In a way I was hoping for it, I would settle the ash, but it would also make it worse for the ground, turning to ash to slush.

A deep roll of thunder made the ground vibrate, and the dark surroundings reminded me of those horrible swamps. I scaled a building, jumping from one wall to another. From a higher point I could see the Evacuation Center better. The city went mostly down hill, higher barricades surrounded a smaller bridge that looked to have collapsed.

I stared at it for a moment, then looked over the rest of the horizon. Most of the Coast still had some part of the city that had been mostly untouched. My eyes travelled to the building in front of me, and I paused.

The small creatures frantic laughing made me sneere.

"Anyone else hear a Jockey?" Coach asked, the large group looked up at me. I could just barely see the small hunched over man crawling from behind a smoked car. I hopped down from the wall and approached him, only to be franticly shushed away as he laughed hysterically. I stepped in front of him as his deformed legs turned to go around me. He simply pushed me down with a high grunt.

I shrieked in surprise as I landed in a mound of ash. He sprinted forward and fell face-first into the dirt as I grabbed his ankle, pushing him farther down. I rolled over and pushed me back with his long thin arms and laughed. We each had our hands pushed against each others shoulders, but I was on top and had the advantage. Ellis called my name and I answered back with an angry shriek.

The Jockey kicked at my stomach, moving his hands to my throat. "Humansminehahaha!" His grip tightened and for a moment I couldn't breath. Ellis rounded the corner and aimed at the infected. "Shit, Coach!" Coach grabbed me around the middle, yanking me from the Jockey's hands. Ellis and Louis simultaneously shot the creature, which bullet killed him I couldn't tell.

Coach put me back on the ground as I coughed, rubbing the sore red marks.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Francis kicked the limp little body away. I bounded passed them in the direction the Jockey had come. The ground slopped downward, a few houses had slid down the face of it, proving that it wasn't meant to be there naturally. I climbed over rubble and foundation, stopping at a poorly standing fence, that threatened to fall over. Planks of wood were tide to it with wire, and a bright blue paint scribbled words,

"CEDA left us!"

"No more ammo!"

"We had to put them all here."

"We barely survived."

"Those bombs ruined it all."

I walked around the perimeter of it, trying to see through the chain link. I could see the ground fell away into a crater, and I couldn't see the bottom. Zoey called my name and jumped over the mound of rubble, stopping as she saw the letters. I tried to climb the fence, but seeing as it could barely stand against the wind, I jumped it completely in one leap.

"Chip, come back here!" Rochelle Hollered, but I didn't hear her over the growing sound of intelligible murmuring. I moved closer to the crater, stepping over another board that must have blown off the fence.

"Its over filling. We need to leave!"

The ground suddenly ended, no doubt having been the landing site of a bomb. My breath caught as a thin man jumped up to try and grab me, but the wall was too high. The crater was full of infected walking around silently, not yet noticing me. Some looked to have been trampled, some had either fallen or been thrown in my the way their bodies were splattered across the dirt and rock. A few sat, cross legged and hunched over. The zombies that had seen me were trying to scale the cliff, but it was just too high.

The others had flattened the low enough that they could slide across. Ellis ran over and began to say something, but trailed away as he saw the Zombies. Now that they could smell a fresh human, a handful more had turned their heads, but they didn't run over. Some tried, but a few had no legs. Another had no body from the shoulders down.

"Guess we found where the Jockey came from..." Francis had walked over with his hands on his hips. Jockeys were good jumpers, coming second after a Hunter, so it wouldn't have been hard for him to find a place low enough to jump out. The others had caught up to us, and the zombies could smell it. The able-Zombies were beating and clawing at the dirt.

"Guys, we should go." Louis tugged Bill's sleeve, but the man only grunted. The deep bellowing was far off, but it still made me turn my head. A sleek black jet was getting closer, and coming right over us. I pushed Ellis towards the fence, ignoring the shrieks of the infected. Everyone had seen it by now, and we began to run out of the enclosed area. If the military saw the trapped zombies, or even us, we could be in trouble.

I ran ahead and jumped onto the fence itself, the chain-link slowly teetered as I sat on top of it, finally collapsing over with a rush of dust as I jumped off. The clouds were becoming darker, and whether the deep rumbling was the sky or the jet, they sounded identical. Seeing the closest over hang of a porch, we pushed up against the wall, Bill and Coach at the front, watching for the jet as it came closer.

It's concussive rumbling grew louder, shaking the porch as it threatened to collapse. With an ear-splitting _whoosh_ the jet flashed by, turning slowly to come back around. The rumbling became distant, then picked up again as it came close for a second time. A high shriek made us all shrink back farther against the crumbling wall as the bomb fell only meters away from the first crater, collapsing the cliff over the zombies as a small mushroom cloud nearly went as high at the plane itself. Wood, rock, and dirt showered down on top of us as the porch caved in from the shock. A wall of dirt and ash pressed against us stinging my skin as it bounced off me like little pebbles.

* * *

><p><strong>Who knows what Nicks going to say next?<strong>

**I might change the names of the chapters. I don't really think they fit their chapter.**

**I had a bunch of jumbled words for the Jockey, but apperantly I couldn't so I just made him laugh. Since thats their trademark noise.**


	25. Of Spitters and Impoundlots

"Damn it!" Coach pushed a wooden beam off of our jumbled pile of people and debris. Nick lifted Rochelle as the Jet's deep sound waves became more distant.

"Okay, so before we continue our little trek here, towards the people who bombed an entire city, does anyone have a plan B?" He managed to make it sound like a legitimate question, which was part of his "Smart-assness" as Ellis had once said.

"No." At least three people answered, but I was too occupied trying to dig Bill out to distinguish the voices.

"All right, then we better get going."

I grasped Bill wrist and yanked him out of the rubble, the Old Man coughed but gave me a pat on the back as he stood. "I'm getting two old for this horse-shit!"

"I can second that." Coach chuckled, almost serious. Francis and Louis both stood at the edge of the new crater, a blackened body had been easily tossed tossed into the tangled fence, arms outstretched in a silent cry.

Thunder rumbled above me, and I felt panic rise until I realised that the Jet really had left.

"Actually Bill, this was Horse-shit to me when I had to cross Savannah with these three. This," Nick opened his arms toward the smoking hole. "Is Bull-shit."

Rochelle smacked his arm and waited for Coach to hold him off from offending anyone else. But the man just stood and stared at the horizon, at the bridge. I pulled the map from Zoey's back, having dropped it before we ducked under the porch. Unfolding it, I could see that red circles had been made over several states. Yellow circles most likely indicated the Rescue Centers, where people were taken to be evacuated towards the Safe Zones, marked in green.

The locations were scribbled in marker, some crossed out. The whole went side of the States was red, following up North and South Dakota, Michigan, and covering Maine and New York. Many of the Southern States were clear. Tennessee, South and North Carolina, and Kentucky were an exception. I could tell by looking at what surrounded the open States that this map hasn't been written on in awhile. Ohio wasn't crossed out, but everything around it was, so it was likely they were gone too. I could see several others that might have shared Ohio's possible fate.

Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida had not been marked, but a few Rescue Centers had been. I had no idea where we were despite being in New Orleans. I new what street we had been on, but not the city. Zoey hadn't shared that, either because it wasn't important or it wasn't shown.

I followed the Bay marker until I found the symbol for "bridge", and assumed we were around here somewhere. And we didn't look entirely close.

Louis had knelt down beside me, pointing his finger on Philadelphia. "We met here. We were originally going to Florida, but when we found out that the Echo Safe Haven had been over-run, we opted for Louisiana. Helluva road-trip...I'll tell you that."

I looked at the distance between Philadelphia and Florida. He was right, it was a very long distance. I had been in Atlanta Georgia at the time the Infection first started. I had been born in Texas, but when my parents got divorced my mother took us to Atlanta. She had never liked the city, so we lived on the outskirts of the large city, where there was more open space. When Mitch had bitten me, I followed them to Savannah. I wasn't sure of their motives to go there, but I never asked, but I was glad now that they had.

We had all gone a long way. Philadelphia, Savannah, Atlanta, to New Orleans Louisiana.

Realising that everyone was ready to move on, I stuffed the map back and pulled the bag to Zoey. She seemed to have forgotten about it, she looked rather surprised to see it. Ellis had slung his rifle over his shoulder and watched the distant water line. Following his eyes I could see that more Jets were in the air. They were nothing more then spots, but their rumbling could still be heard.

"I guess they're not done with "Phase 1" Ellis chuckled half-heartedly. "Either that or they're going to Phase 2. Which is no different. Damn military..."

We walked down the cracked street, seeing a few cars that had crashed that had crashed together, and Francis didn't hesitate to look in closer. We had almost no food and it was a wonder we still had ammo. He came back with a small magnum pistol, one round of bullets.

My back was beginning to ache with a dull throb that was starting at my shoulders. I took to the building again, feeling I could see danger quicker. Not that the leaping dulled the pain in my back...

It felt good to jump, to leap. I attempted to flip myself over the side of a roof, holding onto its gutters. Aside from nearly slipping I held on. I looked around and growled, seeing that the Jets were getting closer. They had now formed a uniform line across the distant sky, spreading out as they got closer to the mainland.

The wall began to crumble under my weight, and the gutter began o bend. I leapt to the next house, seemingly more put together then back at the crater. "Spitter!" Rochelle yelled, firing her gun at the ugly women that stumbled out of an upturned minivan. She shrieked and squealed, running behind the nearest wall, which I happened to be balancing on top of. She paid little attention of me, and even waited as if wanting me to attack first, ready to spit her acid on the Survivor I pinned.

Ha.

Seeing I was making no move, she leaned her long neck back and made a sickening hack, her jaw dripping the bright green acid. Just as the acid left her mouth I leapt at her, landing on her shoulders and shoving her down. The acid that had dripped from her mouth stung a bit on my hands, but not as badly as the others who had divided into two groups on either side of the hissing puddle. She shrieked loudly as she kicked her arms and legs, but she was belly down, unable to spit at me. Coach shot her once in the head with his M16, using only one bullet to finish her.

"Jesus I hope there isn't another hole full of dead people." Nick scoffed, looking at the small hole the spit had burned into the concrete. "Hey Ellis," He called the younger man who had turned away. "Don' ya wanna say goodbye to yer sister?" The man mocked Ellis' drawl.

"I didn't know yer ex-wife was my sister..." The man chided back.

* * *

><p>Louis pulled me closer to his shoulders as we waited for the Jets to pass. The deep rumbling began to make the ground vibrate, the twisted mail-box at the end of the road shook slightly, dust and ash drifted off it.<p>

The rumbling grew like thunder, coming slowly but passing right over us in less then a second. We waited for the noise to subside, but only heard a distant explosion. The house still had parts of its roof, so by scaling the wall and looking through the holes was safer then standing in the open to see where the Jets had gone.

Once the Jets had become distant again we continued on, seeing more and more infected the closer we got to the Evac' sight. We had to stay off the roads. The Jets were distant once more, but we couldn't take the chance of being seen, not until we knew what we were dealing with when it came to CEDA.

No one talked once the Jets had come close, as if they could hear us. I began to wonder whether we really should go towards these people, the people that were bombing an entire city, when people had clearly been alive and uninfected when the first bomb dropped.

And, as I had started to fear, the closer we got to the bridge, the more Zombies we saw. Some even rushed at us in small hordes. They were literally falling apart as they slowly decomposed, burned, or were torn apart by one another as they tended to fight. They were still aggressive as hell, but seemingly were less dangerous when they came running.

As the houses became less and less damaged, I realised we had been moving pretty quickly. It had only taken us nearly two days to get this close to the Bridge. It now was nearly looming over us, I could already see the blood that spattered across the tall barricades. An impound lot separated us all from it, cars nearly stacked on top of one another. Probably to clear the roads and make sure that no one could get out easy.

As two more Jets came overhead in unison, we ducked inside an alley, fences on either side. The quiet neighbourhood was nearly untouched by the bombing, but was in shambles from panic. As the jets passed over, everything soon became quiet, we had all lined up against the stone wall, in the same kneeling position. Coach and Bill seemed in charge, and both men waited before moving forward. We all moved in unison, as a group, a team. No one had to talk, we knew what to do. It was just something we learned.

I was feeling exhausted from the long day, and even longer walking. My back was throbbing and my arms hurt from jumping from house to house. But I still went ahead of my friends to scout the area, and what I saw passed the highest walls of cars alarmed me.

Scores of Zombies limped between cars that would beep in warning here and there. They seemed attracted to it, and were focused on a car who's alarm had recently gone off, I had heard it earlier in the day. The sun was beginning to set, so shadows made them look multiplied before I could realise it was just the lighting.

So many cars had alarms. Many flashed a bright red light, signalling they had been bumped before. I had let off alarms before when I had been with Mitch. They flashed red the first bump or two, then when a locked door handle was pulled, or-in this case-shot at, their alarms sounded.

Zombies love sound.

Coach and Ellis stood underneath me, unable to see over the stacked cars, but I had climbed a support pillar on an overhanging road that acted as a bridge to pass over the impound lot. A good portion of it had been blown away, leaving a mound of concrete underneath it. But an entire lot of tricked cars and a large horde stood in our way.

Louis called my name, and I looked at him, shaking my head. Rochelle, being the smallest of us, quietly climbed a tangled fence, just barely sticking her head over the cars. Since I couldn't tell them why we had to go around, they had to look for themselves. "We can't get by there. There's to many Infected and we don't have enough bullets. Lots of cars have alarms."

Ellis helped her down as she whispered, Francis watched me below, since I had yet to climb down. I continued to look through the stumbling Infected, finally resting on one thing that may work, and Nick wasn't going to like it, Francis was liable not to also. Ellis followed my eyes and couldn't help but smirk at the man's white suit.

"Nope. Nu-uh." Nick crossed his arms and turned, looking for something else. "How the hell are we going to get to that sewer at all? Not that I'm going anyway..."

"Well, as long as we're quiet I don't think they'll see us." Zoey looked at Bill for further reasons, because Nick held firm. Zombies-clearly-were not real aware.

A bomb could go off three feet away from their face and they wouldn't move.

But if they saw you, or you shot them, they were all over you. If we waited till dark we had a chance of sneaking around them. But with a group this large, and...and Francis, I didn't think we could accomplish it.

"What's wrong Fancy Man, don't like a little water?" Francis chided Nick.

"Figures your greasy ass wouldn't mind it..."

I had seen other Hunters tease Infected, since there was nothing they could do to attack a Special Infected, and most the time they paid no attention anyway, so I didn't think I could direct their attention away from the man hole. I climbed down from the support beam, meeting Coach's questionable stare.

No one knew what to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Has anyone else noticed that "Oh you threw a pipe-bomb next to my face? I didn't see" -_-<strong>

**I kinda changed the route they travelled. You normally go through the impound-lot and then get to that room...holder thing and have to let off the alarm. The collapsed bridge is from the Cemetary level in the Parish. And they are looking at the sewer you usually exit out of to get _into _the impound-lot.**

**I'm kinda screwing with the game routes here...**


	26. Of Sewers and Falls

**I know this is short but I felt I needed it to end where it did.**

I wiggled through the crowd of infected, getting a grunt or two as I pushed passed. I stayed on two feet as often as possible, so the others could see me in the darkening light. I could see the sewer opening, a yellow ladder and black hole inside a yellow painted concrete slab.

I really wasn't afraid of Common Infected. They were slow and dim, and now were falling apart. They watched me with white glowing eyes, but aside from a grunt and growl they continued to stumble and stager.

I looked down the hole, feeling slightly uneasy at the pitch black abyss. I secretly wished for one of the flash lights the others had clipped to their guns. I gripped the latter and slowly descended down, whimpering as then evening light was cut off abruptly at the lip of the concrete. I stepped into liquid, and I did my best to ignore the horrible smell. I was nearly blind, and forced myself to stay on my feet. Feeling along the walls, I could tell that the drain was circular. I could not see to my left or my right, and finally decided on right.

Holding onto the round, metal walls, I slowly made my way down the pipes. I heard a few gasps and squeals, writing them off as Infected that had confused me with a Survivor. I could hear a few walk my way, and growled to let them know what they were approaching. Without any light to bounce of their eyes, I was aware that I could bump into any of them.

Suddenly, the wall disappeared, and I froze in place. My heart quickened realising that I was about to get lost. I looked up, blinking my eyes and focusing as hard as I could. A weak light or two were scattered around from the drains that were most likely placed against side walks. But even that was little help.

Realising where the light was coming from, I figured this was a storm sewer, not the "Worst Kind" in Nick's words. I slowly stepped onto all-fours, suddenly afraid that I was going to drown. My hood fell forward, and I startled when I couldn't register what it was. Trying to slow my speeding heart, I continued forward. I kept my eyes wide, stepping slowly as I tried to see any other tunnels.

I narrowed my eyes as a dark brown mound began visible, unmoving. I lifted a finger to feel what it was, several different pictures forming in my mind.

But a Tank was _not _one of them.

I jumped back with an echoing howl, splashing into the leaf-filled water as the body didn't move. I grunted at it, seeing that the Tank had stayed still. Looking around the mound, I could tell his face was down in the water. And while zombies didn't necessarily breath, Special Infected made noises that couldn't be made if their lungs were dead. He had either been injured and drowned, or had fallen after he had been killed. I was actually glad that Ellis wasn't here, he really hadn't grown any fonder of these Zombies in particular.

Tanks were far to big to fit down the man-hole that I had climbed in, so there had to have been a bigger opening.

Realising that it would be difficult to find in this darkness, I began to feel a little panicked. And telling myself not to think about was _making_ me think about it that much more. I continued to walk forward, hoping to come to a wall at one point. This couldn't stretch on forever.

It didn't.

I bumped my head right into the concrete, nearly collapsing in a heart-attack. I almost thought it was another Tank. I heard several grunts and moans as the hidden Infected heard my sharp yell.

"_Just a wall...just a wall." _I told myself, standing on my legs again and walked alongside it. It was getting very cold, a very faint draft moved a hair or two on my head as the wall disappeared again, leaving me to nearly collapse back into the water. The new tunnel stretched for at least 20 feet before a small circle of light glowed blue.

I all but ran for it, the feeling that something was running after me, or at the least watching me made me desperately to leave. I actually looked down the second yellow latter to make sure that I was alone. I gripped at the road as if something had decided to follow me after all, and was racing up the latter at that moment.

As I dashed 15 feet away from the hole I took a deep breath, noticing just how dark it was. The moon was just coming over the collapsed bridge, the last rays of pink disappearing.

I looked around the road, seeing that I had ventured quiet a ways away from the bridge. It wasn't "What the hell...?" far. But it was definitely "How did that happen?" far. Running towards it, I noticed besides the crashed cars, fires, and bodies, this place was untouched.

I raced up the cement walls that lined the road, creating a wall that cut off traffic from the make-shift impound lot. Which must have been a simple forgotten ditch at one point. I leapt from the wall to the bridge, seeing that a bus and ambulance pushed off to the side. Leaning over the railing, I saw the heads of my fellow Survivors.

I growled loudly, making them all look around in tense movements. It was Francis who noticed me. I climbed down the support beams, nearly loosing my grip as my wet cloths weighed me down. I plopped into the grass. Ellis went to pat my shoulder in greeting, then seemed to remember where I had been.

"Nick's Suit Sewer?"

I shook my head and the man then patted my shoulder. "See Nick, its not a gross sewer."

"_Was I the Guinea Pig?" _I stared at Nick, who was pretending to have little interest. "I don't care what sewer it is, I am _not_ touching that kid."

Rochelle brushed him off. "Well we can clearly get through the sewers. Now we just worry about the zombies."

"Yeah, 'cus I wasn't before." Francis pulled a stick from my hair, purposefully pulling it out roughly. It was dark now, and the smashed cars had now become a looming wall.

"Well if we were all-" Zoey was cut off by Bill's hand clapping over he mouth. The incoherent mumbling turned to several small howls as a large hand reached over the wall of cars, heaving itself over.

"Charger!"

The Special Infected locked eyes on Francis, having stepped away from the rest of us. With a loud bellow, the Charger put its arm ahead and charged. Francis rolled out of the way, but the Charger stopped abruptly and went for Coach, being the second closest. The larger man didn't see him coming, and was grabbed around the middle and pummelled into the ground.

"Get this Bitch off me!" He yelled, beating at the large arm.

As we rushed forward to help, a green cloud jumped on top of the ambulance over head, the Smokers hacking yell made me freeze, barely missing his tongue shooting out at Francis, gripping his torso and neck, pinning his arms down. The tongue began to retract, pulling Francis in the air. The Smoker yelled again as Louis shot at his tumour covered face, yelling at me to catch the man that was now being strangled well above our heads. A few Common Infected had noticed the commotion, and were hurling themselves over the cars.

The Smoker began to back up, pulling Francis higher up. The Biker was kicking his legs, but could not fight back effectively, finally pulled against the Smoker's body. The Infected began to beat him as his tongue grew tighter.. Louis yelled at me to catch Francis moments before he shot the tongue. I was already on the support beam, reaching for the man's hand while reaching for the metal safety rail of the road as well. I grabbed Francis' wrist as he fell passed me, narrowly gripping his hand against my own arm. He was heavier then I had guessed, and I struggled to pull both of us up, since we were hanging by one arm. We collapsed to the road, the railing bent where I had so desperately held.

The Smoker had leapt back when its tongue had disappeared, and was now running back over. As Francis struggled to get air back into his lungs, I lunged at the Smoker, pushing him back by the shoulders. He was pressed against the railing, which I failed to notice as I jumped. With a shriek and hack we both fell over the over-hang, plummeting down to the cars below.

My vision whitened for a second as the air left my lungs. The Smoker bounced of the hood as the glass shattered under my weight. The front windshield collapsed and I fell into the front seats. My ears rang painfully, finally allowing me to register that the alarm had gone off. I shifted to my side, feeling the pain in my back intensify. My leg tangled in the twisted and broken steering wheel, keeping me stuck in this painful position.

The alarm was making my head pound as Infected began to leap straight over it, heading towards the people on the other side of the wall. I reached over to the wheel, trying to unwrap my leg. With a final snap the wheel broke further, allowing me to free myself. I tore at the seats and dashboard, trying desperately to get myself onto my feet as more Infected clambered over the car. More ran straight over the crushed cars, shrieking and howling in rage.

Automatics began to shoot, and it sounded like more Bullets then Coach had. I pulled myself out the front window, cutting my hands as the glass ripped at my skin and jacket. I rolled right off the hood, landing on the ground. I could have sworn it was as painful as the fall to the car. The Smoker's body lay a few feet away, clearly dead from the fall. The only reason I had lived was because Hunters were built for heights.

I rolled over, coughing painfully as I walked as fast as I could toward the cars.

"Grab him! He goes with the others!" A man's deep voice made me turn, only to be hit in the back of the head with the butt of a gun.

* * *

><p><strong>Am I the only one that feels followedwatched in the dark? -_-**

**So, I figured that Hunters, being Jumping, building climbing, pounce on you from the bridge kinda Infected. The fall would only wound him.**

**I'm not sure how long this story will be, since I havn't thought about what will go into the remaining chapters yet (yup...I just go at it as I sit here...).**


	27. Of Trucks and Syringes

**Wow. Its been a while since Ellis or Nick got a part in this.**

**Ellis**

The heavily suited man slammed the truck door closed, enclosing us in a dark metal box. Nick pulled me onto a crate, forcing me to sit as the truck began to move. The conman shushed me when I tried to say something, and didn't let me speak until the truck was driving on a steady rhythm.

"Where are the others?" I looked over at him, even though I could barely see him.

"I don't know kid, just be quiet." He wasn't forceful, but it made my mouth shut.

We had been split in three groups, put into three trucks. I hadn't seen them since the horde swarmed us, and I hadn't seen Chip since that Charger grabbed Coach.

The truck lurch to the left, Nick cursed and kicked the wall that stood against the truck's cabin. "Watch where your driven dumb-fucks!"

Whoever was on the other side slammed a fist against it, yelling something indistinctly. Nick scoffed, "Oh now its war."

"Knock it off Nick." I pulled on his jacket to force him back down. He crossed his arms and slouched down, leaning his head onto the wall. "Damn Military."

I took off my hat, running my fingers through my hair. _I hadn't seen Chip since the Charger grabbed Coach._

**Chip**

I groaned pitifully, the man's hand clamped down tightly against my neck, forcing me to stay on the floor. Another had put a horrible smelling cloth in front of my face, making my head fog.

"Base this is Outer 4 calling from the bridge pick up, over."

"Outer 4 this is Base, over."

"We've got four Whiskey Deltas and one Jumper, over."

"Jumper?"

"Male, looks to be in teens, brown hair green eyes. Harris found him and the rest near the South Evac. He seems stable but we have him under, over."

"How far is him mutation? Over."

"Advanced. But he seems docile so we're bringing him in. Over."

"Keep him under 'til Rutledge gets a good look at him. How many other did you find? Over."

"Eight Immune, maybe Carries. A few shouted at us and they don't sound like they're from around here. They have plenty of injuries but didn't look to have side-affects. Over."

"Bring them all in. Don't let them near anyone until they're established. Over."

"Yes sir, over."

The radio erupted into static as the receiver clicked into place. A large hand turned me over, making my whine over the pain that shot up threw my back. I couldn't make my limbs work properly, so I was just a little more then a dead noodle. The cloth was removed from my face and another, clean cloth, was tied around my head and over my mouth to keep me from biting.

The men had radiation masks on, the first put his hand against my chest, which I hadn't realised was only covered in my faded green T-shirt, not my jacket. I whined again, trying to push the man's hand away from my neck.

"Hold still Kid, the more you move the harder this will be." The second man lifted my arm, tying a tight lace above my elbow. He pulled a syringe from his breast pocket and stuck it into the vein. An icy cold feeling crept up my arm, making my mind haze over.

**Nick**

I snapped my head back up, realising that I had drifted off. Ellis leaned against my shoulder. Whether he was asleep or not, I couldn't tell, but I didn't want to wake him if he was.

It had grown increasingly cold, the air that seeped in through the vents was dropping in temperature because of the speed we were going, which even Ellis hadn't reached when we had driven to that damn carnival. A.k.a. "Evacuation Center."

Well it had been until I shot the pilot. He was infected, but that's what landed us in the swamps, which was where we had lost Ellis, which was when he found Chip. Which led to the other four. One of which got pulled by a Smoker, leaving Chip to save him, who I had seen fall with my own eyes.

"Jesus..." It was all so messed up. I couldn't tell Ellis what I had seen Chip do, I didn't have the heart. Sure I would have told him if we had just met. I really didn't care about this kid then. But now I knew his name, I had given them all a nickname, which was my attempt to _not _ know them. It was hard as hell to hurt someone who's name you knew. Because that meant you knew them. _Mean _dammit! That _means _you _know_ them.

Why did I have to know them? Dammit why couldn't I just leave them behind? All four of their names stood out like hell. Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey not so much. But I didn't think I could bare it if getting shot in the head was all that was left for us.

"Dammit..."

"You shouldn't talk to yer self Nick. Its weird." Ellis sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, yeah. Like you've never done it?"

"Guilty."

I chuckled half-heartedly, closing my eyes to ward off the impending headache. "Did I ever tell you about my cousin?"

Ellis scoffed. "That was out of the dark." Realising that I had never told him a single thing about myself.

"We're in the dark dip-shit. Anyway, he was a dumb-ass. Always doing something to piss off the cops. And to be honest, I followed his lead. But you know something? He was one the first people to get bitten." He _was_ a dumb-ass.

"...And?" Ellis asked, not understanding why I would just suddenly stop there. I turned to look at him, one eye-brow raised.

"Oh no, there's no lesson or any soft shit like that. Just saying he was a dumb-ass."

Ellis laughed and rubbed his eyes again. He pulled his knees to his chest, a cold draft blew in as the truck hit the trillionth pot-hole. I could of sworn they were hitting them on purpose.

After awhile, the truck lurched to a stop, jerking us awake. A few people yelled indistinctly, as the hatch opened, sending in blinding light that made me cringe back. The first dark suited human grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet, putting both my hands behind my back. One man pulled out a syringe, and I immediately began to fight against whoever was holding me. An arm wrapped our my chest and bent me over, another had restrained Ellis, pulling us two different ways.

"Nick!" He called, but was already out of sight. I kicked my legs out, yelling as a third person shoved me to the ground and placed a knee between my shoulders.

* * *

><p>"Oh, crap." I rolled over, feeling a heavy weight on my every inch of my body. I had to lay for a few minutes before it finally registered in my mind that I was laying on a cot, underneath a thin blue sheet. My arm stung as I moved it, trying to get the feeling back. A bruise had formed around the vein that they had stuck the syringe in.<p>

"Dammit..." _You shouldn't talk to yer self, its weird. _"Dammit!"

I sat up a little to quickly, feeling a sudden head rush. The entire room was dull and stuffy. My legs stiffened as I stood, but didn't give out. I walked to the door, having the sudden thought that it would simply be unlocked. But that was a stupid thought. I hit the wooden door, yelling for someone to open it. I had to know what happened to everyone.

"Let me out of here! You can't keep me here!"

"Well if you shut up and stop yelling I'll open it, moron!" A woman's voice sternly stated, making me back up. A man opened the door, pointing his gun at my chest until he saw I was stable. All but 5'' 2', the brunette pushed passed the man and immediately placed a hand against my head.

"Fevers down...arm." She held out her hand, and I placed my arm obediently. "Those 'soldiers' are too rough. They shouldn't have stuck you so hard. Where did you come from?"

I was a bit taken aback by her forwardness. "Uh...we were going to the bridge where-"

"Ha! That bridge was bombed two weeks ago." She placed a hand on my back and felt my breathing. "Once I say your fine, you'll be a little more free. I don't like how they put you all in here like animals."

"What about my friends?" She checked my eyes.

"The eight-"

"Nine."

"...Whatever. They're here too. Couldn't tell you where. You'll have to ask Rutledge. He's in charge of overseeing Carriers." She pulled out a few pills and placed them in my hand.

"Carriers?

"Yeah. Your infected, and can infect anyone who isn't immune by simply being around them. But you can't change...Take the pills!"

I threw my head back and swallowed them dry.

* * *

><p><strong>This is a little short, but I like how this came out :D<strong>

**I considered not doing that whole "Blah blah blaah, Over" thing. It seemed a little weird. But that's probably just me.**


	28. Of Buckwheat and Bentshit

**Chip**

I groaned, trying to move my hand to the stinging pinch that ran up the opposite arm, but found myself weighed down. My mind was a white fog, unable to hold onto anything for over three seconds. _"Another Tank? No, I saw him dead. Where did Ellis go? My arm stings. My head hurts. My back hurts. My head hurts. Wait, I said that. Where's my jacket?"_

I tried to answer every question at once, and my head reeled. A foul smell finally hit my nose, seeing as it was the last sense to wake up, and I was not even awake. I moved my leg, eyes still closed, clearing my head and making sure that nothing was broken. Feeling my head clear, I struggled to open my eyes, dazed by the bright light of the white room. I hissed and turned my head slowly, seeing the table full of scalpels, knifes, syringes, and other things that made me struggle a little harder to sit up. Looking down, a leather strap had been tied down across my chest. The restraint was little more then a large belt, but it held firm.

A painful spasm shot up my spin and forced me to lay back down. My now sleeveless arms had been rubbed raw just below my elbows, and the Iv stuck in my left arm had bruised the upper arm, and I could feel whatever liquid that was being drained inside me, an uncomfortable icy-hot feeling.

My hair had either been brushed back, or had just simply moved, because my head felt heavy from the shift in weight as most of it had been moved to the left side. Feeling a sudden rush of panic, I began to struggle, ignoring the pain in my back. With a sharp yell of frustration, I twisted myself over to the right, trying to grab the restraint buckle with my teeth, but the buckle was too far, and the pain was too great.

The door suddenly flew open. One being in a heavy radiation suit grabbed the buckle and tightened it, causing me to whimper as it constricted my chest. Another grabbed the drip-bag and squeezed it slightly, making the icy-hot feeling in my veins intensify, and my mind I felt as if a sudden weight was shoved on top of me.

"Would you two calm the hell down?" A third man shoved the second away from the drip-bag, unhooking it and slowly taking the IV out of my arm. The two people had moved to the door, waiting to be instructed.

The man shooed the out, closing the door and grabbing a knife of the table. I tried to push back as he approached. "Would you calm down? Your back doesn't need any more strain. Now hold the fuck still and don't bite me...I'll bite you back."

He snapped the knife underneath the restraint and it easily broke, letting me breath. "Now sit up, and DON'T MOVE. I'm tired of babysitting." I laid there frozen for several seconds, finally pushing myself to a sitting position. Another spasm making me bend over to the right more then the left. "See, now look what ya did. Your tore a ligament in your back. You have signs of an older strain, so the tare isn't very old. You pulled a muscle in your shoulder, bruised your ankle, a concussion. You had some swelling but the Diuretics should have taken care of it."

He looked in my eyes, mouth, and ears. Naming different medicine that I had never heard of. "So, until Rutledge gets a look at you, your staying in here. We have had several others like you come in, and two turned and attacked. So he's a little sceptical. Eat this."

He handed me a raisin cookie, and my stomach twisted painfully, sending another spasm down my back. "We haven't seen you eat at all. And we picked you up 12 hours ago."

I nearly choked on the cookie, remembering that Ellis and the others had been caught in a horde, and possibly picked up (kidnapped, in my definition) as well. The man narrowed his eyes and watched me choke, then stared at me for some explanation. But of course I could not give one.

I finally held up eight fingers, and after a second of non-blink-stareing, he figured it out. "Ah, yes there were eight others. But I am part of the Infected care, not Carriers. I don't know what's going on over there."

He lifted my arm and inspected the bruise the IV had left. My arm now burned, turning red.

"They put ammonia over your face. If the amount is to much it had been known to blind people. But most the time its just enough to knock you out. That IV had Diuretic in it. The medicine lowers the water level in your body, so swelling is reduced. I don't usually give it in an IV, but given the circumstances I figured it was best. Its not the most comfortable medication, and it had its own side-affects. That's why I gave you that cookie, light-headedness. Then there's nausea, so it kinda contradicts. But it depends on your body what happens...Ha, listen to me rambling on. Names Jaidon Davis."

I suddenly remembered Ellis' and I's attempt to learn names, and I was _not _doing it again.

"I understand Infected can't talk, so for now we're going to call you Seven. Your the seventh Jumper we've brought in. Four Criers. Six Smokers. Two of the Little Guys. We tried to catch one of those Big Ones. But the soldiers got corners in a train yard and were able to close him in a train car. No one dared let him out. It was a massacre down there. Those big-armed ones were impossible. Some Infected are like you, others have to be caught. I feel bad for whoever is bait."

I watched him with wide eyes, actually relieved I was joined by others. But I quickly felt that I also didn't care. Infected or not, I was the ninth person in my group. Not the seventh "Jumper".

Another knock on the door made Jaidon quickly opened it and let another man inside, followed by a women. This man wore no radiation suit, but the women wore a mask. The man studied me for a moment, then grabbed my clawed hands and told me to open my mouth. This must be Rutledge.

"Seven, you told me?"

"Yes sir."

"Who did he come with?" He examined the bruise on my arm.

"Uh, quiet a few. Eight Carriers total, the biggest we've come across so far." Jaidon handed him a clipboard and Rutledge looked over it for less then a second, then turned his attention over to the "Wash Your Hands" sign as if it had hidden secrets.

"Take him to the lab for blood tests. Seeing his behaviour, he could be useful for the cure."

Jaidon's eyebrows bunched together as he walked to follow Rutledge out of the room. "But they told you that was impossible. This can't be reversed for anyone. If your Infected you Infected. And giving a vaccine to those who have no immunity would turn them without question. If they don't have natural immunity then any amount of the virus is deadly."

"We don't need a vaccine. As long as we can stop Carriers from spreading it and kill off any Infected then no one else will get infected." Rutledge then walked out followed by the women, closing the door and leaving it quiet.

Jaidon sighed and motioned for me to get off the bed. "I might as well take you down there. Its hopeless though."

I did my best to stay on my feet, but the spasms that ran up my back were making it hard. He led me down a wide hall, holding the door open for me to pass through. A cold rush of air hit my face, making me tense. It had to of been at least five o'clock in the morning by the look of the sky, the clouds having dispersed. Several trucks were lined against the tall wall, guards stood at the top on towers with what looked like scoped rifles.

A few soldiers watched us pass. Jaidon greeted them but we did not stop. He led me into another hall, doors on either side. "Hospital." He said, greeting a women as she left.

"I swear, its impossible to get men to listen." She bickered as she shut the door.

"I don't know, this one listens pretty well." Jaidon patted me on the back.

"Ah, number Seven huh? Well, as soon as we learn your name that number will be gone." She handed Jaidon a piece of paper. "This your guy?" Jaidon asked, flipping it over.

"Yup, Bennet. A few cuts and bites but he's fine. I need to get information on Bradshaw. I'm not even sure he's awake yet." She turned to go into the next room, leaving us to begin walking again. He held open a door at the end of the hall and pushed me inside.

"Okay, so, you'll need to wait in here until we can get one of your buddies in here. I need your age and some other stuff. Come step on this scale." I did as he said, standing on the tip scale as he absently wrote down "106 pounds" on his paper. He then patted the chair in the corner.

**Ellis**

"You've got another visitor." Came a woman's voice as she shoved Nick into the room. Rochelle stood and hugged him, and both sat back down against the wall. Three out of nine. They were slowly putting us back together. Nick only had his blue dress shirt on, since anyone with a jacket had to get rid of it because they were usually covered in blood...

"Did they put you out Ellis?" He asked, received a stiff nod from me. They had shoved me against the side of the truck and stuck a rag in front of my face. My throat still burned. "I don't really think these people are very gentle."

I leaned my head against the wall, already feeling exhausted. Rochelle put her hand on my mine and sighed. The door then opened again, and the same woman stepped in. "Sorry for the short peace, but I need Ellis Bradshaw and Nick Bennet."

"Bradshaw? Holy hell. I though it was gonna be something like Buck or Wheat...or Buckwheat." Nick stood and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to my feet.

"That's funny Nick Bentshit."

"Shuddup!"

Rochelle giggled as the woman rolled her eyes and closed the door. "We are running blood tests and a few of you are more infected then the rest. Have you had any deep wounds?"

"Uh, like, 45." The woman glared at Nick and he quickly straitened up. "I got attacked by a witch back in Savannah."

"I got attacked by a Hunter." I ignored Nick's questioning glare, since I hadn't told all four of them about that.

"Hunter? Are you talking about Jumpers?" She opened the door at the end of the hall and let us in, both Louis and Chip stood in the middle of the room, wide grins on both of their faces.

"Louis got attacked by a Crier. Your deep wounds let the infection in further, so since your blood is closer to a Infected's we need to take a pint of blood from each of you.

I sat next to Chip, noting to myself that he didn't have his jacket either. A man stood next to the table and handed me a paper. "Are you related to this kid?"

"No." I looked at the paper and filled in the blank name and age. The man took the paper back and set it down.

"Okay Chip, we'll have to take yours once the Diuretics is out of your system. So Louis, I'll start with you." Louis held out his arm and Jaidon tied a string around his upper arm, sticking a needle into the vein.

* * *

><p><strong>Nick just hits me as a Bennet. Louis got attacked by a boat full of Witches in The Sacrifice comic. I'm not even kidding. It was a BOAT FULL of Witches...poor guy.<strong>

**I seriously couldn't help naming this chapter the way I did. XD**

**And I also changed Chip's brother's name. A few people pointed out the although Mitch and Mitchell are two different people, their names are confusing. So Mitchell's name has now been changed to Lance. (Random name pulled up by Google :P) So Mitch is the bad Hunter and Lance is Chip's brother.**


	29. Of Staying and Leaving

**Short chapter is short but I wasn't real sure how to write this one. For some reason the paraghraphs were uploaded weird so I apologize for the messy chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Nick <strong>

I played with the buttons on my sleeve, noting how four claw marks tore down the fabric just below my elbow. The strings had begun to fray, and the fact that I had pulled at them consistently didn't make it any better.

"I don't think I like that look, Nick" Coach spoke from the opposite bed, not able to sleep either. We were too used to sleeping on hard floors with guns in our laps. This felt to...safe.

"Its not my fault Chip's blood was positive." The kid, even younger then Ellis, had tested positive for the S-virus. A (S)ub-virus to the Green Flu that spread in a similar way, but was air-born. The Green-Flu was spread through close contact. An Infected human had to be within a certain amount of space to pass it, or through broken skin. They told us the S-virus was somewhat "Knew". Infected like Chip could still breath, sending the carbon dioxide from his lungs, and others like him, into the air. Once it became strong, the infection really spread through non-immune people. And that meant they're was _a lot_ of Infected like Chip.

"I merely tried to help him Coach."

"And made it worse."

"Hell Coach, drop it. There's nothing we can do for Chip if _they _ can't help him. Jesus...Ellis was pissed." He hadn't seemed to grasp it, an when they finally explained it, he and Louis argued for the Teen.

And I just stood there. Dammit I just stood there.

They had finally put us all back into pairs. Me and Coach, Rochelle and Louis, Bill and Ellis, Francis and Zoey. And Chip was by himself. Dammit! Why did I learn their names? I should have just turned my back when I had the chance. I could've done fine on my own. I didn't need anyone to watch my back. I didn't need any help. I didn't need anyone to lean on when I was hurt. I should have stuck with "Only Me". That had seemed like a fine fucking plan, and now I was stuck in this horse-shit.

"_My names Ellis. Some people call me El, but I prefer Ellis 'cuz "El" sounds like a girls name."_

"_Names Rochelle. How about you?"_

"_My friends call me Coach. I guess y'all can do the same."_

_**"Name's Nick, but don't bother learning it 'cause I ain't sticking around much longer." **_

I stayed to god-damn long. I don't need this shit.

_"If all yer gonna do it complain about how we fuck up Nick, then here's yer chance. Ellis and Rochelle are asleep. I'll close the door on yer way out."_

_I didn't move, just stared at the man. Just stared as dark clouds hid the hotel we had to pass through to get into the swamps. I couldn't believe he was telling me to just go. Sure we bickered, but this was Coach. I didn't think they're was a thing in the world the Big Man hated._  
><em>In exception to Zombies.<em>

_I merely sat back down, staring at my shoes as the man did the same with a heavy sigh. "You don't think ya need us, but when your cold, hurt, and on yer own, you'll know this isn't just about you."_

_"I don't care who or what you were before this, but yer a Survivor now, same as me, Ellis, and Rochelle. That's three people that are here besides you. "_

Ellis, Coach, Rochelle, Chip, Bill, Zoey, Francis (dammit), and Louis. _That's_ **eight**_ people that are here besides you._

"You gonna leave us Nick? Like you always said you would? You gonna Leave Chip, Ellis, and Rochelle wondering where you went? Do you want to go back to Pool-Hall-stuck-behind-bars-Nick?"

"Dammit Coach! Just Shut the hell up!" The man fell quiet. It was clear he had never really trusted me to stay. "No...so stop asking."

**Ellis**

"Dinner is he same time every night. We'll come and get you all." Jaidon slowly closed the door, tossing me Chips paper. He had apologised, said there was nothing they could if the S-virus could not be removed.

**Chip Moore**

**Caucasian Male**

**Age=14 years **

**Height=5' 6 (slouched)**

**Weight=102 lbs **

**Blood Type=(scribble out) AB+ (circled) AB+s**

**Eye color=green**

**Hair color=Brown.**

Bill sighed and slid down the wall and slouched onto one of the beds. I cleared my throat, making him look up. "I ever tell ya 'bout the time a Charger broke through uh wall in the Vannah Hotel back in Savannah? Nearly knocked us out the window. Funniest god-damn thing that ever happened. Nick was shoved into a dresser and his jacket got caught on one of the knobs and he was panicking so he ended up getting attacked by a Jockey. Pulled him right over the edge of the 28th floor. But he grabbed onto the edge and the Jockey fell, so I helped him up and we fought our way to the Safe-Room on the bottom floor of a burning building."  
>Bill chuckled lightly and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.<p>

"We were walking down an alley back in Philadelphia. We heard a girl crying so Zoey and I went to investigate. Louis came in yelling some shit and startled that Witch. We ran out and slammed the door and then came the Horde. Zoey threw a pipe bomb and everything was fine. There was a helicopter heading to Mercy Hospital, where we were going to get evacuated, and Louis ran ahead to get its attention. A Hunter followed him to the streets and attacked. He shot him and the Hunter hit a car and the alarm went off. I had never seen so many fucking zombies. We were cornered against a fence. And low-and-behold, a Tank. The first one I had seen. He tossed a car and nearly hit us. We ran into another alley and he beat the Hell out of everything that got in its way. We climbed a fire escape on the side of the building and it collapsed under his weight, and he died."

I sat and listened, able to picture it in my head. We stared at one another for a moment before a knock made me look at the door. Jaidon opened it and motioned for us to follow him to diner.

**Chip**

I stared at the small vial of red goop in the top cabinet, no doubt Boomer puke. I could smell it from here. Come to think about it, I hadn't seen on in awhile. Must have explode along with the bombs. My back was stiff from the tight bandages tide around my lower back to act as a brace. Jaidon hadn't put in any higher, since I was beginning to cough. And if I caught something and was unable to breath properly, I could get an infection in my lungs.

The door opened and a raven haired women stepped inside, holding another syringe. "Hello sweety. Got another bundle of shots for you. A little less painful then that darn Diuretic." She fearlessly held my arm and tied the tourniquet around my upper right arm, since my left was still swelling with an irritated bruise.  
>"This will help you sleep. I know you've done enough of it but this next medicine is gonna make ya feel bad. I think its better to sleep threw most of it. I watched her silently, brown eyes glancing at me once and awhile with a smile. If her hair was brown, she could have been my mom.<p>

"So, you're gonna feel a little woozy here in a minute." She moved farther up my arm to put in the second shot. _Damn, I'm getting more shots then a kindergartner..._ "There won't be many more after this. But we need to weaken the Infection in you. There is no cure...yet... but a weak Virus is better then the raging one that whipped out the world."  
>She patted the pillow to my left and I laid down, feeling a sudden tightness in my back. She smiled and walked away as everything went hazy.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know what was up with the ENTER button on my computer or maybe its this edit thing. I had to sort out most of the paraghraphs...dammit...So again I'm sorry if something is somewhere it shouldn't be. -_-<strong>

**Its finally sinking in for Nick that he didn't got through with his "Stick out for Number One" Plan. In The Parish, Coach will most times say "You can make a new life right her in this room Nick." And I was thinking about that during their little curfuffle there.**


	30. Of Breakfast and Benches

**Ugh, paragraphs are messed up again. Sorry for the messyness. -_- I don't know what its doing.**

**I know this is short, but I got a new laptop and had to transfer the documents and stuff, and just didn't feel like adding much more to this chapter. Chip was going to be the last part of this chapter, but he will be first next chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ellis<strong>

"Up, both of you, up." A hard knock roused me from under the thin sheets that were pulled over my head. My eyes were heavy, heavier then when we had to wake up to travel. Bill was already sitting up, moving the pillow against the wall. I combed through my wavy hair with my fingers. "We shoul' go see if the others 'er there."

"I'm sure they are."

I followed Bill down the hall, seeing the door a ways down open as Rochelle and Louis walked out. Rochelle waited for us to walk up, and then wrapped her arm around mine for comfort. A few signs directed the four of us into the cafeteria, filled with more people I had seen in two months. Zoey and Francis were still in the line with Styrofoam trays. We moved to join them, and Francis, who I hadn't seen since the attack, had angry red marks across his shoulders and wrapped around his neck.

Zoey grabbed a piece of bread with the metal tongs and briskly walked over to Coach and Nick. Coach scooted over to make room, Nick had that deep frown I had seen him with the first time we met. Rochelle jabbed him with an elbow as she sat next to him, giving him a good-natured smile. I sat across from them, next to Francis, as Louis sat next to Bill.

"Well...this is prison food..." Nick commented quietly, banging the bread on the table, receiving a hard thump as the bread didn't even crumble.  
>"You been to Prison Nick?" Francis chuckled, having been there himself. "What for?"<p>

"I got arrested for giving Kindergartners gold stickers. What the hell do you think Greasy?"

"Boys." Rochelle quietly commanded. "Or I'll throw this bread at you..."

I looked around the room, seeing multiple groups of people talking to one another. Not many looked "healthy". Jaidon sat next to Rutledge, clearly arguing quietly. When he caught me staring, all he did was wave. A girl, no older then 16, gave a big blonde dog her bread, clearly no more interested in it then us. But the dog literally inhaled it, and coughed a few times.

A man and a woman sat opposite one-another, the woman pointed to the cork-board, covered in pictures and letters. Jaidon said that if a person decidingly left, since it was our choice to stay or not, they could put a picture up, in case someone they knew came by and looked. The board was covered in pictures and letters. Many had clearly been taken before the apocalypse, seeing as they were smiling. Zoey followed my gaze, laughing just a little.

"Looks a bit like a Safe-House wall, huh?" I nodded and looked back at the cold eggs and table hard(er) bread. Everyone around me really just poked at it. I had been taught never to play with my food. But of course, what person actually didn't? I made a small mound out of my eggs, then smooshed them down flat.

Coach had already eaten his, and was quietly nibbling on his bread. Looking around, it wasn't absolutely silent. A hum reeled around the room as people talked amongst themselves. I still found myself paranoid at the fact that they may be able to hear us talk anyway.

Rochelle broke the ice first, clasping her hands together on the table. "So, what now?"

Way to go Rochelle...

Francis scoffed, putting his plastic fork down. "Well, for one, we can't do anything until we're told. So, in other words...don't ask me." He had clearly answered in an attempt to annoy her in some way, and when it didn't work he merely went back to slowly putting the eggs in his mouth. I let out a small breath, my version of a That-Was-Funny-But-Just-Barely laugh, and looked at Coach. "What about Chip?"

The man sighed, but Nick just shook his head. "Ellis, there's nothing we can do. Its up to...what was it? Rutledge?"

"I know but, we can't just forget about 'im." Nick looked at Coach for help. Since he clearly had nothing to say.

"Look, young'un. Nick's right. There ain't nothing we can do. Now that doesn't mean we're gonna go and forget about 'im. Right now he's a threat to whatever is left. And until we have something to stand we have to wait. Jaidon said he wouldn't keep us in the dark 'bout nothin'"

I looked back at my plate and pictured Chip strapped to a table with needles in and out of his body. But that couldn't be right. They wouldn't do that to a kid. My stomach twisted painfully with hunger, and I slowly chewed on the edge of an egg, everyone going quiet again.

To be honest, we had had some pretty damn good luck through out this whole ordeal. I outran a Tank, was found before I died of hypothermia, saved from a Charger, saved from another Hunter, hadn't gotten attacked by a Witch thanks to Chip. Outran a Tank again and was saved before he caused fatal damage, Nick found me. We had found Coach and Rochelle. Before the Horde overwhelmed us we were taken into custody of the damn Military.

Yeah, everything could have been worse. Come to think of it, most of it should have killed me, or Chip. But here we were, safe and sound eating eggs and toast like it was Sunday morning back at Ma's house. But when would the luck run out? Maybe this was the end of it. Good luck to me wasn't if I continued to live, because I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Chip.

"We'll figure something out Ay-lus." Nick jabbed me with his fork, mocking my name like he had when I had first said it.

"_Names Ellis, but my friends called me El. But I prefer Ellis 'cuz El sounds like a girls name."_

"_Ay-lus? What kinda name is that?"_

It was starting to get dim outside, but it was still mid-morning. Dark rain clouds made it seem later then it really was. The windows were sprinkled with small droplets, and I began to hope that there wouldn't be thunder. Chip hated thunder. Once everyone had swallowed what they could we threw the styrofoam trays into the trash bins against the wall. Jaidon excused himself from his table and walked over to us before we reached the door.

"You can wonder around the place, but don't go anywhere your not supposed to. And you know very well where that is. I'm going back...somewhere. I'm tired of Rutledge."  
>Our group of eight scattered out just a little, heading toward the heavily fenced courtyard. It was beginning to sprinkle slightly, but the sun was still visible through a thin layer of clouds. The heavy fences made a gap between us and a tall wall with three guards standing atop them. They looked thoroughly bored.<p>

Benches and tables were scattered around, the military's attempt at making the place "cozy" in my opinion. Compared to everything else I guess they did a good job. Zoey laid her head on her crossed arms and mumbled something to Bill. The Veteran rolled his eyes and ignored what she said.

"Ugh, I'm tired dammit." Nick shove Francis over and sat down.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to reorganize the paragraphs dammit...AGAIN!<strong>

**My old laptop was going slow and falling apart, and this new one plays Left 4 dead so well, it was hard playing at first because I was used to the buffering. So while I silently yell and this Doc Manager and work on the next chapter, enjoy!**


	31. Of Cold and Warm

**There go the paragraphs against dammit. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chip<strong>

I blinked my eyes open, feeling a similar grogginess to before. I coughed, cringing at the spasm that laced my back. _I though she just wanted me to sleep...this is a coma. _My stomach twinged as I made an attempt to sit up, but other wise what little was in it stayed down. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times, letting the room come back into focus.

I put my feet on the ground and made the attempt to stand, not knowing how long I would be sitting here before someone came in.

The door suddenly opened, and the raven haired women from before pointed an accusing finger at me "You can just sit back down!" She pushed against my shoulders to force me back to the hard bed. "Rutledge is gonna be here in a minute, so make yourself look as innocent as possible. He isn't the sympathetic type."

I just stared as she stopped and felt at the hole in my shirt, just over my chest. "You survive an apocalypse and all ya get is a hole in your shirt."

_Lucky me. _

**Nick **

I rolled over slowly, arms under the pillow and blanket over my head. Damn it was cold. It shouldn't be this cold in the South. But here I was, burying myself farther and farther into the blankets. Coach was snoring in his sleep, something I had always hated about him.

The room was completely dark. The only light was the thin line coming from under the door. They seemed to always keep the lights on in the halls. I was happy that we were safe, but I wanted my gun back. I wanted to be travelling. I liked to travel, not sleep in a room that smelled like a hospital.

But it was clean.

That was nice.

I could hear people moving around outside. Usually just the overly-confident guards. Coach rolled over in his sleep and resumed snoring, but I couldn't fall asleep for my life. I rolled onto my back and stared at the black ceiling, brushing back my hair as it fell into my eyes.

Damn it was cold.

It shouldn't be this damn cold in the south. We were still Louisiana, but we were a good distance away from New Orleans. But it was still the South. The South was warm. Just ask Ellis. Boston was cold. Hell, it was never warm whenever I went back. But that may have been my fault, going back during the middle of January.  
>Too cold, too warm. Too many zombies, not enough zombies. If it was to cold we would want it warmer, if it was to warm we'd want it colder. If there were too many zombies we'd want less, if there weren't enough, then who would complain?<p>

How did Ellis and Coach live in Savannah all that time? All I had wanted to do was get out of it as soon as I had came. And now I actually felt myself wanting to go back.  
>It was to damn cold.<p>

I could hear a faint crying outside the walls. Probably just someone who was upset over the whole The-World-Is-Screwed-Beyond-Repair. But I still found myself stiffen as I sat up. The sudden vision of the dusty-haired sobbing girl played in my mind as I though about all the Witches we had come across. I didn't really think anyone could just ignore a helpless crying girl, so her trap worked perfect.

The first time. After that it was "See ya bitch." In Coach's own words.

The crying suddenly stopped in a sharp gasp that made me jump to my feet, already moving to the door before Coach turned sleepily to see what I was doing.  
>"You hear it too?" I didn't answer, just slowly turned the door knob. The door to my left opened, and the head of a large blonde dog stuck out from behind the girl that turned to look at me.<p>

We all knew what it was.

The crying was turning into a small growl, barely audible but clearly agitated. The dog growled deeply in its chest and the girl quickly wrapped her hand around its muzzle. The growl suddenly grew louder, turning into the growing scream. I rushed past the door, getting a loud bark from the Retriever.

Ellis and Bill were nearly running down the hall as the screams became intense, followed by a louder man. "What the hell?" I slammed into the door that led to the courtyard, nearly knocked back as a man was slammed into it, pushed back by the sheer force of the Witch's hit.

She had him by the chest, ripping through his jacket and throwing his gun aside with her over-grown claws. I really would have liked my gun, but I settled for grabbing her instead. The man screamed as she made another swipe, cut off just as I pinned her arms to her side and threw a good distance away. The dog had broken free from the girl and broke past everyone, launching at the Special Infected. The animal had to be 85 pounds, and knocked her straight down. Bill was the first to grab it my the scruff and pull it off. The Witch made a wild swipe at the old man, but fell with a blood-curdling shout as knife lodge itself in the back of her head.

The dog squirmed free and went back to its master, getting a tap on the nose from the teenager. The man on the ground rolled over and got to his feet, nearly falling back down to his knees.

Rutledge, damn him, merely dislodged the knife and stuck it back to his belt, looking at his "Soldier" and the man tried to breath. Before he say anything, a women from the crowd cut him off. "You moron! Didn't you think that looked suspicious?"

The man straightened up and looked at me with a silent 'thank you', then turned to the crowd. "Why the hell do you think I got closer? What the _fuck_ was that?"

"A Vampire." Francis spoke up, getting a sharp jab in the side from Rochelle. "I, uh, mean a Witch. You've never seen one?"

"Hell no. Just Jumpers and Smokers."

"How did she get through?" Rutledge, shoved me back away from the attacked man and nearly got nose-to-nose with him. "Where did the other Guards go? You were all supposed to watching the perimeter!"

"We were! I don't know where everyone went. I went looking and this...this _Witch_ was curled up against the building." The man became defensive, looking over for any help. Jaidon and the women who had looked after me were at the very back of the crowd.

"Find the others." He looked at his remaining staff. "They, and Brady here, are to be brought to the head office. Take care of this Brady." He kicked the dead girl and pushed past the growing group gathering at the door.

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><p><strong>Don't worry Francis. When Vampires take over the world, you'll be the person to say "I was right!"<strong>

**Was this too short? I feel like its a short chapter...**


	32. Of Fights and Power

**GAAHHHH DAMN PARAGRAPHS!**

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><p>I pushed the cold eggs across my plate slowly, shoulder to shoulder with Ellis. The entire room had gone quiet as soon as everyone had sat down. No one knew how that Witch had gotten in, and many were afraid of another, or something worse.<p>

My stomach growled but I ignored it, not really sure if I actually wanted to eat. Zoey sat across from us, but other then that we were alone at our table. The Retriever looked around the room with dopey eyes, watching for anyone that may drop something.

Coach hadn't spoke to me since the Witch, just gave me the cold shoulder. The Witch itself had been thrown over the perimeter walls. The Soldiers seemed to believe that the smell of another Infected's rotting corpse would keep the rest away. I tried telling Rutledge that the four of us had walked _through_ rotting corpses, and no doubt the smell took forever to ware off. But that didn't keep them away.

But Rutledge was a hard man, and he didn't listen to people that weren't in his branch of the Military. Hell, he didn't listen to his own Soldiers.  
>Ellis looked at me for a moment, then back at his Styrofoam tray. "Hey Nick, did ya ever have any pets?"<p>

I focused on my tray, pushing the eggs nearly over the edge onto the table. I stayed silent long enough for him to drop it, because he had clearly seen me watching the big blond dog. Zoey only briefly looked at Ellis, and then went back to eating her eggs. "He asked you a question."

"And I didn't answer." I retorted back. She rolled her eyes and chewed a little faster. I had lost my appetite, even though my stomach was growling painfully. I stood and walked away from them, throwing the tray into the bins that had been pushed farther against the wall. I looked back at the Retriever, who was watching his girl wide eyed. She lifted her hand above his head along with the hard bread. She managed to pull her hand away just before he grabbed her fingers.

I followed the twisted hallways back to our room. Coach was already sitting on the bed, looking at a book he found who-knows-where. The plain white cover didn't tell me anything.

He looked up briefly as I entered, but didn't say a word.

"If a Witch attack was all it took to get you to leave me alone, I would have startled one long ago." I joked, twisting one of the buttons on my blue sleeve.

He stayed silent, something that made the level of annoyance inside me rise. I slid past him and sat on my bed, deciding that he wasn't going to get rid of me that easily.

"So, any word on Chip?"

"hmm." I narrowed my eyes. What kind of answer was that? "So, yes or no?"

"No."

I scoffed and stood right in front of him, putting my hand over the pages so he couldn't read them. "What did I do to you Coach?"

"I don' know what ya mean." He pushed my hand aside and turned the page, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

This time he didn't answer, proving my point but not getting me any answers. The light bulb finally clicked, and I slammed the book closed with both hands. "What did you tell Rochelle when you couldn't find me? The night Ellis and the others were attacked?"

Coach finally looked up, and his face had gone hard, an expression that he almost never had. "I told her you wouldn't just leave. I told her you would come back."

"Did you say it to make her feel better, or did you believe it?" My voice was going cold.

"Knowin' what kin' uh man you are, I didn' know what ya were doin'"

"W-what kind of man...No, no that's not gonna work."

"What?"

"We've known each other for, what? Four, five weeks? And you think you can you can tell me what kind of man I am?"

"As a matter of fact I can, Nicholas."

"Fine, fine then why don't you? Go ahead, tell me." My voice began to rise, and Coach stood on his feet. He was already a good three inches taller then me, and his boosted temper made him grow another two.

"You've spent all your time lying to people for your own good. You thought you could make it on your own. You think you don' need us. You think you can just leave and we'd never give ya a second thought. Lookin' back, I don't think you would have ever joined us if we weren' goin' in the same direction. I was surprised when ya came back with Bill."

He sounded as if he knew what he was talking about, as if he had known me for years. I froze for a moment, realising he had never trusted me  
>That son of a Bitch.<p>

. "No, I probably wouldn't have gone with you. I probably would have gone on my merry way, happy I didn't have to be stuck with two Hicks and a woman that didn't know what else to do or where she was going. I didn't need to stay and look over you ass-holes. I didn't need to go see what all that noise was, but I did because I knew there was the possibility it was Ellis. And I was right wasn't I? But I certainly didn't need to save him to make your fat ass happy."

"I trusted Ellis when he said Chip wouldn't hurt us. I believed him when he said Chip had save his life. He was right to. Chip's a lot more useful to the group then you ever were. He alerted us to both that Spitter and that Jockey. I hate Francis, Chip may act like he does, but the kid saved him. Chip stopped the Smoker from attacking anyone else. He fell off a damn bridge trying to kill it. The car alarm wasn't his fault."

"And what did you do? You got attacked but a Charger and ran out of bullets. Then the rest of us had to cover you sorry ass! So don't stand there and tell me what kind of man I am. I may be different from you but I trusted you dammit!"

Coach's hands were clenched into fists, and he nearly doubled in size as he swelled with fury. Seeing he was trying to scare me, I was nearly nose to nose with him. He looked ready to hit me, but didn't get the chance to do anything once our door opened.

Ellis stood in the doorway, looking back and forth across from us both. I snapped my mouth shut, knowing that I had never told him what had happened to Chip. "Nick, you told me you weren't gonna leave. Why didn' ya tell me about Chip. We were stuck in that truck for hours and ya didn't say anything?"

Coach looked at me, waiting for my reply, He was waiting for me to prove my point. To prove that what I had told him was true. And when I couldn't open my mouth, when I couldn't tell Ellis why I hadn't said anything, the Georgian almost looked smug. But it turned blank when Ellis shook his head and left.

"Shit-!" I shoved Coach back against the wall with enough force to surprise him. Coach quickly got back to his feet and gripped my shoulder hard enough to hurt. I punched him in the jaw with my opposite arm, forcing him to let go as he stumbled back.

"The hell? Knock it off you two!" Bill pulled hard on the back of my shirt and pushed me to the floor. He pushed against Coach's chest when he made a move towards me, but Bill was a "No nonsense" sort of guy. "I said knock it the hell off!" Bill isn't afraid of zombies, and he isn't afraid of Coach, no matter how big the man is. So when Coach started yelling, Bill yelled right back.

Francis helped me back to my feet. Louis then dragged me into the hall. A few people had opened their doors to see what the noise was, but none interfered. Rochelle and Zoey tried to talk Bill and Coach down. Francis didn't know what to do, so he walked out into the hall.

I broke my arm away from Louis and all but sprinted down the hall after Ellis.

**Chip**

I pushed my hands against the bed rail that I had been strapped down to. The Raven haired women hadn't been in the room for hours. The only person I had seen wad Jaidon, and only because he walked by the window on the door. I swear I hadn't been anywhere but a room being tested for three or four days.

I let out a loud breath of air and moved my head from side to side to brush back my hair. It was an even bigger bushy mess now that I had been moving my head from side to side for two hours. Zoey would have a fit.

I wanted to go back with them. I wanted to jump on Francis again. I needed to know if that Witch hurt anyone. I heard her loud and clear, and was screeching loudly to let them know. Rutledge finally punched the door to shut me up. It was like I was being kept here because there was no where else to put me. I had heard another Hunter yowling a few doors down an hour ago, but he had turned quiet about the same time as me.  
>The sound of another Hunter was somewhat comforting, somewhat unnerving since I had yet to meet a nice Hunter.<p>

I blew back part of my bangs with a burst of air, then looked around again. Damn I was bored. My arms and legs ached from being glued in the same position. I was starving and tired, but I was finding it hard to sleep when I had a cramp in my neck. I yawned anyway, doing my best to stretch under the restraints.

With another yawn I looking up at the ceiling. The florescent light blinked weakly, giving me a headache.

I was tired, I was hungry. I had a headache. My neck was sore.

The Hunter that was being kept a few doors down began to howl. What I assumed to be a she had been whimpering, and when she hadn't been whimpering she was howling. She had been somewhat quiet once Rutledge had yelled, but every once in awhile I heard a thump.

Her howling increased in volume and someone slammed against the door. A brown headed man stuck his head in the window but didn't enter my room. I sighed and wiggle a little, testing the restraints (belts, if I didn't know any better) for the 80th time.

The whimpering became a little louder, and I was about to yell back. But the intake of breath was more for surprise once that blinking light suddenly went dark. Every noise, from the generators to the light bulbs was gone in the same second, and it was eerily still. For a moment I was frozen in darkness. The hall outside my window had no windows of its own, so everything went black. Not one sound aside from my loud breathing reached my ears.

The Hunter screeched a Hunter-worthy screech as something metallic dropped down the hall. Voices began to shout over one another and heavy boots ran past the dark window.

It all added to a rather convincing horror movie scene, and I bought it one-hundred percent. I hated the dark, but I kept still and quiet. The opposite of the girl down the hall. She was throwing a total fit.

Someone yelled to another, and the dim beam of a flash light shun in my window and quickly moved on. It may have just been the unfamiliar quietness, but the crash from outside echoed horribly throughout the building. Shotguns had never sounded so loud, let alone the roar that made the floor itself shake.

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><p><strong>Well I had to fix all the damn paragraphs again...<strong>

**I think Nick got a little more word in than Coach in that little tussle but he was pissed. **

**I've been on a Left 4 Dead kick lately. Go to google, look up "Taymor Ghazi" and watch his commercials. Whoever guesses who it is gets cookie! I can't stop looking at pictures of that guy, I just can't get over it. XD The same thing happened with Hugh Dillon, Nick's voice actor. Every time I hear him talk I laugh.**

**Sorry I havn't updated in forever. I took a little break and worked on another story. I am currently on Spring Break and then I have finals next week. Nothing but sitting in the same seat in the same class FOR A WEEK. "Curses!"**


	33. Of Lying and helpless

**Oh, up. There are the f*cked up paraghraps...**

**Chip's last chapter took place at night, and I thought about making this one go from when Nick ran after Ellis, but that had been in the morning and I didn't feel like going through an entire day of them just being mad at one another. ( a.k.a, I'm Lazy)**

**I was going to make this longer, but I've taken forever as it is and thought I would cut it short so I could update this.**

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><p><strong>Ellis<strong>

After a few guards had broken Coach and Bill up, they had switched our rooms, putting me with Francis, Louis with Coach, and Rochelle with Zoey, and Bill with Nick. Thinking the sudden switch-up would dull the fire. But it was a doubtful idea.

The Biker looked to be asleep against the wall, but I knew he just didn't want to start anything. Which was surprising since he loved to piss people off.

Nick's argument ran through my head as I was unable to push it away. The realization that we were only guns to him put me off, but the fact he never told me what happened on the highway to Chip was enough.

"They 'r lyin' ya know." My southern drawl a little more thick with sleepiness.

"What?" Francis was sure it was about Nick or Coach, and didn't care.

"They aint tellin' us the truth 'bout Chip. There's no way the infe'tion bein' spread the way Jai'on said. I don' think that Virus exists." Francis has slowly turned his head, seeing my side of it.

"Well, when you talk yourself farther into another argument, I'll be sleeping." His voice trailed off and he leaned his head back.  
>"A zombie got it, and they 're lyin'." My voice elevated to a louder tone.<p>

"Ellis."  
>"They think we're that dumb."<p>

"Ellis! You don't know what they're doing. Don't start anything else. Just...go to sleep." Francis rolled over with a huff, turning his back. I adjusted my gray shirt, having had it twisted around some time ago. I kind of missed my old one. The "Bull Shifters" on the front gave it more color than the bland gray that never changed. My hat was at the end of the bed, and I was somewhat surprised I hadn't lost it yet. Sure it fit fine so it wouldn't slip, but I was waiting for the day it would fall off and I wouldn't notice.

I reached for the light, being closest to the door. The room was swallowed in darkness, and I all but ran back to the bed. Pulling the thin sheet to my shoulders, I looked at the form of the man, arms across his torso.

"There's nothin' wrong with Chip. They're lyin'..." I whispered.

"Ellis, your killin' me." Francis growled and pulled the blanket over his head. His gloves barely darker then the navy blue the walls seemed to have turned. The hall light seeped through the crack under the door, making the orange glow seem more yellow.

With a sigh I rolled against the wall, watching a pair of boots shift in front of the door. The guards had been on high alert since the Witch, and Rutledge was still chewing their asses.

I began to doze, feeling a sudden weight push my head a little farther into the pillow. It had been a long time since I had let my guard down enough that I wasn't aware of the sounds around me for minutes at a time. Since it was only the snoring of Francis and the thumping of boots, I let myself sink low into sleep.

A loud crash woke me with a violent lurch, and for a moment I thought I had fallen off the bed, but I was still against the wall. Shouting echoed up and down the hall as the heavy boots came stamping past in no order. The hall light was gone and my eyes had been closed long enough I couldn't see. Francis moved over on his bed, and cursed as a distance thump made the ground shake just slightly.

A louder crash shook the bed post, and I was reaching for the door handle before Francis could stop me. The big golden dog was barking from inside the room it shared with its girl, and a flash light shone from their door to my eyes, blinding me. A soldier grabbed my arm and yelled for me to move down the hall, grabbing Francis by his shirt and throwing him into the hall with me.

"Secure all Infected!" A woman shouted, pushing a few more people in line behind us. "Make sure none got out!"  
>Out?<p>

Rochelle and Zoey found their way beside us and we were herded into the cafeteria, lit dimly by flash lights that were being passed around. Louis, Coach, and Bill were already sitting at a table, Nick had secluded himself several feet away. Everyone knew the danger of noise, and kept quiet. Rochelle asked Nick if he knew anything in a whisper, but he just shrugged.

The girl had her hand clasped firmly on her dogs mouth. A few bursts of sound escaped his mouth, and several people looked at him with worried glances. The floor rumbled slightly, but any sound outside was muffled through the poorly lit walls.

A man shouted at another unintelligibly, but loud enough to startle a few people that had gathered at the door. A man poked his head through it, motioning for them to move, then slammed the door shut with an irritating clang.

With a short sigh, I sat next to Coach, aware that the man had a hardness in his limbs that hadn't been there before. Being in an apocalypse, you learn when to be quiet. You learn when to warn people. You learn what sound is bad, and what sound is dismissive. And I, along with everyone else knew that the sounds outside were not dismissive.

Even the dog had closed his mouth, folded ears perked with an inquisitive look.

I missed the weight of my rifle in my hands. I had dropped it somewhere back at the make-shift impound lot when the Military had interfered. Hearing danger with no weapon was a foreign feeling at this point, and it was a feeling I heavily resented.

The dark room played too many shadows with the reaching lights that were being swung around by those who had a flash light. And all too many times I jumped at seeing one move too fast. For a moment the noise outside came to a quiet stop, and everyone froze. Even the dog's ears flicked up and down a few times.

"Unlock the doors!" Came the multi voiced shouts just before the wall rattled violently with a roar that made me fall to the floor. The dog barked and broke from the teens grasp, running over my legs and standing against the wall. The second slam pushed the wall down with a heavy crash as the small crowd of Survivors pushed back farther into the room. The dog had been knocked away, and was now jumping near the giant Zombie that stood looking in, trying to adjust to the new lighting.

Looking down at the golden dog, it roared furiously reaching for the dog with a clumsy lurch. The Teenager called helplessly to her dog as the room erupted into panic. The Tank looked around in confusion, unable to see in the dark as the shadows blended with real bodies.  
>Rochelle gripped my shirt and pushed me to the far wall, the others having spread out amongst themselves. The Tank straitened up, shoving the dog away with a confused grunt. The moment the giant moved inward people saw a chance to get outside. With no weapons we needed space.<p>

The Soldiers that did have guns didn't seem to believe what they saw, judging by the looks on their faces.

Rochelle and I moved towards the door a mere six feet from where the Tank was standing, swiping blindly as it felt the air rush past. The metal door opened painfully loud, making the Tank straighten with a sudden rush of excitement, turning in a clumsy circle as the door swung open at my side and hit the boxes behind it.

The dog left its silent post behind its shoulder to dance around us, and I grabbed the dogs collar to pull him away. The Tank had gone still, arms held open. Nick motioned wildly from the group of Survivors that had spread outside. He motioned to his own eyes and then to the Tank.

I pushed Rochelle and the Retriever away, looking back at the Tank, who had yet to move from the fallen wall. The metal door was still ajar, swinging back into the boxes, making a small jingling. The Tank had focused all it's attention on that door, and was blindly reaching for it, almost timid. The moment its large fingers touched the cold metal, its fist enclosed around it, twisting it like a piece of useless paper.

He couldn't see.

Everyone had gone still, even the Soldiers. Rutledge was silently motioning to them from an awkward position. The Tank was now making its way slowly towards us, reaching out carefully, ripping away at anything its hands touched.

Its eyes were raw, bloody sockets. The white puss from its eyes still visible. Rutledge whispered harshly for us to move back, and the moment the Tank swiveled to catch him, he only grabbed empty air.

"We're trapped dammit." Nick whispered to Rochelle, stepping back against Coach. The Tank grunted curiously, and the Retriever huffed and growled, immediately having its mouth clapped shut with several pairs of hands.

"Jake!" The girl hissed in his ear, but the dog only growled louder as the Tank grumbled in its direction. With a clumsy lurch, its great bulk reached in the direction of the sound, missing the dog my a mere two feet. Jake began to howl, jumping at the Tanks arms. The Tank began to roar furiously, swiping through the air at its intended target. People began to scatter, not caring about the noise level as the Tank began to slam its fists into the ground.

Francis swung around to Rutledge, yelling at him for weapons.

"What weapons?" He yelled over the furious roar of the Tank as it swung around like an angry Ape. "I have enough guns for eight of my men! There are no guns!"

The Tank beat its chest and swung its arms around to the wall that separated us from the rest of the Infected. The barrier collapsing under its massive strength. The slab of concrete that fell was his preferred weapon, and with a mighty heave the big rock slammed into the building, collapsing damn near half of it.

"Shit! Everyone get outside!" A man shouted throwing a stone at the Tank. Opening up the hole it had made. Half of the Soldiers fled outside, the other half staying inside the barriers the draw the Tank off.

**Nick**

Damn it dark. The generators had been shut off, and no lights uncovered the uneven ground. The waves lapped loudly against the shore, the bombed bridge having collapsed in it long before we had a chance of getting to it.

We were still in New Orleans.

The Tank slammed into the barricade a second time, this time running straight through it. The "Soldiers" had opened fire as the rest of us ran around helplessly. I felt openly vulnerable, having no weapon, and I silently cursed the world for it.

Trying to see past the group of people flooding towards me, I spotted Coach and Bill, Zoey close in tow. Coach looked at me with a sense of dismay, but left off any vulgar comments to the earlier argument. Now wasn't the time to settle it.

The Tank grabbed the edge of the second hole it had made, breaking off another hunk. He tossed it blindly through the air, not caring where it went as long as it landed on something. Its back and chest bleeding and open in wide wounds from the continuing gun shots. The dog had yet to dance away from it, leaping onto its shoulders and over its back with a strong leap. The Tank reached up, grabbing it clumsily by the long hair on its body, throwing Jake so far it made my Tank-attack flying session seem harmless.

He flew straight over the Armed Personnel Trucks, disappearing for a moment before limping out with a loud howl. The Tank charged towards the loud baying, giving us no time to move. Its giant arms slamming me aside with a painful punch. The ground underneath scraped against my shoulder, my thicker white jacket no longer there to protect it.

The dog hobbled away, suddenly aware that the Danger had not forgotten about him. The fall had slowed him down, and the Tank pinpointed its panicked cries. With a chilling growl it reached for the Retriever again, making sure it really was there. The dog had led the Tank to the second parked Personnel Truck, and was now hiding underneath with the belief it would leave him alone.

And it may have, but the Tank's fingers grasped around the back of the truck, crushing it in it's fists. It threw the Truck away with a rage-fulled toss. The dog, now with a tightly tucked tail, began to limp farther from the Soldiers that were still firing at the Tanks back.

The truck slammed into the ground, forcing several people to the ground. I looked around desperately, locking eyes with a scared Ellis. With no weapons we were all helpless, we wouldn't have gotten this far without them, and now our guns were somewhere underneath a highway miles away.

We had all seen Tanks, but a Tank without a gun was a different story. Especially when the truck was on fire and no doubt about to attract a horde.

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><p><strong>I spent near a damn month on this chapter, am sadly I don't find myself happy with it. It's one thing for me to write about a few people getting attacked by a Tank, and another for me to write about lots of people getting attacked. So I only really told what happened so far to a few main people. The others? They're there somewhere...<strong>


	34. Of Hordes and Hugs

**I just uploaded two chapters within 48 hours of one-another...Woah.**

**Hope this wasnt rushed. I wasn't sure about the weapons and I may take that out later if it was weird -_-**

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><p>The Tank beat its fists against the truck as the dog darted behind it, the already lit truck lurched violently as the gas tank gave a sharp metallic ding. The Tank stumbled back, arms above its head as the truck exploded. Pieces and fragments flew over our heads and the fire lit the Tank the moment he failed to move away.<p>

From the weeks I had spent in this mess, fire was the only way to beat a Tank quick.

The truck was engulfed into inferno as the Tank fell back to its knees, quickly standing again and swiping at its skin to put the flames out. Smoke began to drift into the air in big clouds, illuminated by the orange flames. The dog had been tossed to the ground by the force of it, and was now hobbling away, unaware of how lucky he was.

The Tank was swinging in circles, screaming not in pain but in the rage of failing his instincts. With a sharp howl he fell to his knees, a deep groan echoing out of his mouth as he fell backwards.

The fire suddenly grew in size as a strong breeze blew from the water, sending smoke even higher.

For a moment I thought it would be fine. I thought that the danger was gone. But then I remembered we had no guns, and Rutledge had let another zombie in. I turned to grab the man who was about to fall to his knees in what looked like defeat, and that pissed me off. We had fought lots of Zombies. Quiet a few Tanks too, and we had never looked as defeated as he did now.

I was beaten to him. Another man grabbing him by the front of his shirt and all but lifting him off the ground. "What the hell was that? I thought you said this Safe Zone was secure!"

The crowd began to shout over the man before he could finish his sentence. Rutledge shoved the man away and demanded space. "It was secure! How long did you think we were going to sit here and play House until the Infected got in?"

"Why don't you have guns? Where did u put them all? Zoey shouted, pointing at crushed building the Tank had smashed through.

"I told you, there aren't any. The ones we had are out of ammo. The guns my men have are all that's left." One of the Soldiers, Brady, pulled the magazine from his gun and held it out, showing just how empty it was becoming.

"And the funny this is, the Military abandoned the Main Land. They're all at sea. _This_ is all we have." He followed Zoey's hand to the destroyed wall.

"But the Jets-"

"Aren't mine. We tried radioing into them but they aren't rescuing anyone any more. They've been taking people to ships in the Ocean. They made a mistake and the Infection broke out on the boat. They had no choice but to bomb the whole ship. They don't want it to happen again, and refused to help us. We're all stuck here." He held up his arms in defeat.

As if to prove his point, an echoing crowd of shrieking and screaming began to climb over the horizon. I sighed.

"Hey Coach, remember when we were in the Mall, back in Savannah, and Ellis had that idea that we could drive Jimmy Gibbs car out of there? Because it was there for show?"

"Yeah. So?"

Ellis has stated the Stock Car driver was the pride of Georgia, and he was almost giddy with joy to share his plan. We had gone through a good portion of the mall to get to the Evacuation Center, only to learn it wasn't there. So we went along with it, running around to grab the gas cans that were scattered around oddly. I had never known a car to need so much gas, and I wasn't to fond of Stock Car Racing either. But I found myself almost grateful to the Hick who drove it.

"Remember when we all ran out of ammo, and the ammo pile was empty too, and we still had eight more cans to grab? What did we use?"

"You and I used the axes from the Fire boxes. We covered Rochelle and Ellis so they coul' get the cans."

"Remember that Hunter that pushed Rochelle down the stairs, and he went with her? Clumsiest Hunter I had ever seen. He was hurt more then Rochelle."

"Made 'er drop the last can over the edge of the stairs. Had to figh' our way all the way down to grab the thing."

"But the axes worked." The horde had grown closer, and I began to look around for anything that would serve as a worthy weapon. The shrieking became a starving howl as all of them in unison seemed to fall under the same key. I ran past the crowd, back through he whole in the "Safety" wall. Back into the cafeteria and into the kitchens. Utensils were scattered around in the panic they had been thrown in to leave, and I picked up the biggest knife I could find in the dark. Coach had followed me in along with a few people that had noticed our quick retreat inside.

All in all, the crowd was just barely reaching 25 in numbers. At first I had thought it was more, but in the open I got a more accurate count. If even half had a weapon it wouldn't be hopeless. Throwing the box of forks and knives to Coach, he ran back outside, faster than I thought his bad knee would carry him.

Following him out, I could see the fastest of the Infected were already jumping at the first people they saw, quickly shoved to the ground by the Survivors who had all ran out of ammo at some point or another.

You learn.

The dog, injured as he was, bounced around and pushed a few down himself, mauling their faces until they were still. All six of the others had instinctively boxed against one another. I through Ellis another knife, since he was closest and more likely to catch it and not get stabbed.

The wave of Infected was overwhelming, like a wall of water with teeth. I was shoved to the ground underneath three of them. There bone thin faces snarling in greedy hunger. Kicking my legs took two off, only to have them jumpy back again.

The Soldiers that did have guns had begun to fire, but it really hadn't lasted long as their guns ran out for good.

Grabbing the knife, sharp edge reversed in my hand, I easily cut the necks of the first few, not killing them but startling them enough to push them away. The dog flew over me, shoving them back down again not intending on helping me intentionally. His human was simply directly to my left, the Teenager shoved the seven over her away just barely. The weight of them overbearing. But I was certain the dog weighed five times as much, considering how easily he dismembered each one.

My zombies and fallen over and were struggling to get up since they had gone so long without food or water, their very bodies were failing on them for good. I watched them for a moment, unaware of the crowd rushing from behind. The first grabbed the back of my shoulders, diggings its nails into my back. I had been hit from behind before, but my jacket protected me from claws and bites. Now it was gone and it hurt like a bitch.

Turning around, I forced the first to fall as the rest came rushing at me, shoving me to the ground again. Knowing that they could over power me, I kicked my legs hard for the second time, feeling the first few stumble backwards, but any over my head began to scratch and tare at me. With a strong heave, I pushed them back with my arms as my knife fell to the ground.

I scooted myself backwards, back peddling before I had even stood straight. The Infected had begun to flail as they stood, gathering the intention of more Zombies.

"Ah Shit!" I shouted loudly, turning to run. I was stuck between the water and the Infected. Although they couldn't swim, I was sure it was freezing, and it wouldn't last long either. The 25 or so people behind me were doing alright, but I was a ways away from them, and had a growing crowd gathering at my heels. Looking behind me again, the Smoker above took the blind moment to grab me.

Its long slimy tongue wrapped around my torso mid run, pulling me right off my feet. We were at least 100 yards from the bridge, and the pieces that had been blown from it had flown to the shore we were trapped on. He Smoker had chosen a big hunk of steel to stand on, high enough to strangle me but low enough my toes touched the ground it I reached. He pulled me against the steel giving the horde a chance to beat against me. I kicked my legs but the movement caused me to hang completely off the ground and lose my breath.

I coughed in unison to the green clouded Special. The group of Infected growing larger as the others noticed the commotion. I heard a distant yell, either Ellis or Francis. A second came as a small shriek, the Smoker erupted into a green cloud of sick smelling smoke that engulfed me. I fell to the ground roughly, coughing in an attempt to breath through the smoke. The Infected seemed confused at first once I suddenly disappeared, but they soon found me again once the smoke began to clear.

A loud screech covered the noise that the Zombies were making, and the tell-tale noise made me instinctively cove my abdomen, knowing the Special always went there first. I closed my eyes, waiting for the Hunter to jump me, and when no pain came, from clawing nor biting, I opened one eye, looking straight into the bright green orbs that were five inches away.

I shot back in surprise, yelling all the same. "Chip! Don't scare me like that! Damn!" I gave him a hard slug to the shoulder, noting his Jacket was gone and a deep green shirt took its place. Chip flinched but merely stared his wide-eyed stare, looking around at the mess the Tank had caused. The Horde was thinning now, and I could already see the bodies of the people who didn't make it.

I gotten myself farther then I had thought, and had to sprint back with the Teen bounding ahead. Looking over my shoulder I could see the crowd of Infected Chip had managed to kill, and boy could the Kid kill Zombies.

As the last Infected fell, Chip launched himself at Ellis, taking the man down with a shriek of joy. Ellis grabbed the boy and all but lifted him up, spinning him in a circle. "I knew they wouldn' hurt you!"

Chip looked squished in Ellis' arms, but took it none the less. The Infected had fallen in piles, scattered across the ground. Blood and bodies everywhere. But it did look brighter with Chip. The remaining people, now down to maybe 15, watched cautiously, not seeing him the same way Ellis did.

The dog had its ears perked, watching for the moment Chip was put back on the ground. Its loud gruff bark made the Hunter turn in alarm as the giant dog charged, seeing him as another Infected. Chip sprinted a good distance away, only stopping when he saw the dog wasn't following.

"Jake..." The girl called him back, not sure if that was the right thing to do. Chip bounded back once the dog had its back turned, hiding behind me this time.

"Well, I'll be damned. The Stealer's back."Francis said gruffly, receiving a narrowed glare from Chip. "Wouldn't have minded if you hadn't come back..." I could have been wrong, but Francis sounded like he was kidding.

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><p><strong>Look at that. The paragraphs liked me today :D<strong>

**Couldn't help myself. Francis missed Chip.**

**Smokers. They always like to get you when your teammates are too far away -_-'.**

**The next chapter is looking to be the last, depending on what their plan is, and I'm actually pretty sad about it. I grew too attached to these Fictional characters D: **

**I have probably 30 something stories in my OpenOffice document manager, and this is probably the third I've ever gotten close to finishing.**


	35. Of Tanks and Hunters

**The longest chapter I have written for this story. 4,204 words in all.**

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><p>I rolled over, feeling the muscles in my shoulder tighten as they pulled in awkward directions. The hard floor made it no better, and my head was starting to hurt. Ellis and Chip were curled against my back. Chip's head on my hip.<p>

After the Tank the Survivors had piled inside, deciding the building with the giant hole in the wall was safer than the open air. People volunteered for watch, and right now Bill and Louis sat against the wall a few feet away from the Tank-made hole. Louis was dozing just slightly, while Bill sat awake and stared and the wall opposite him. He glanced my way, noticing the two kids sleeping over me, and with a smirk he gave me a thumbs up.

"_Shut up." _I mouthed, turning my head to look for the others. We had for the most part split into groups for the night. I had originally been sleeping beside Rochelle, but now Ellis and Chip were curled up against me, and Rochelle was sleeping shoulder to shoulder with Francis.

The Bastard.

I slid from beneath the two people and sat up, looking around. It was early morning, and already I was only counting eight, when I should have been counting nine. Ellis felt the shift underneath his head and lifted his eyes groggily to stare at me.

"Nick? What ya doin'?" He really didn't sound overly interested, and simply pulled Chip closer.

"Have you seen Coach?" I whispered, thumping his arm as he closed his eyes and seemed to fall back asleep. He really hadn't heard the question, since he just groaned in sleepy protest.

"I'm tryin' ta sleep ya ass." He waved me away, but Chip had now lifted his head and was scanning the groups of people for the man. I asked Ellis again, making sure he heard it.

"Uh-uh." Flat. Blank. Sleepy. Dead. That's how he sounded.

I stood quietly, getting a soft cooing sound from Chip's young throat.

"No don't worry I'm not going to far." He was unaware of the fight Coach and I had, but he was aware that I was going outside. With a "Don't be stupid." snort, he laid his head back down on Ellis' arm.

Bill watched me leave, all to aware of who I was going to find, but he made no attempt to stop me.

"Get eaten." He said quietly and gruffly.

"Not until you bite me." I snapped back, feeling the tension rise.

The rubble the Tank had thrown around looked more of a mess in the light than in the dark, and the Tank's body was still smoking, the once pink flesh now a coal black. The truck still sizzled. The rising sun made its burned-black surface almost brown.

I retraced my path to the bridge where Chip had helped me, the Smoker's body lay in a heap on the ground. It's rope like tongue twisted into several knots. Chip's claws had scored across it's face, making it nearly unrecognizable.

I looked at the water, the land on the other side of the bay was a light gray from the mist that had settled over it. It was almost pretty. I could see the figure of Coach standing, staring at the same thing. Once I looked past it, I could see that the bridge had been blown in the middle, collapsing into the water and splitting off the two stretches of land. Pieces of steel and chucks of cars jutted out of the water like shattered bones through skin.

"You're saying I'm going to leave?"

"What?" Coach sounded completely uninterested in what I had to say to him any more, and this side of Coach pissed me off.

"You say I'll leave, and then you come out here all by yourself with no one to watch your ass." If I was a cat I would have been bordering a hiss. It was a childish argument to bring up this way, but it was childish the minute he had said anything.

"Shuddup Nicolas." His voice still sounded flat and uninterested.

"Just sayin' the truth asshole." I turned to leave, aware of his eyes burning into my head. His footsteps began to follow mine after a moment. I could see Chip sitting on the "Security" walls. Watching us for any danger to approach. I had never seen a Hunter so visible. Usually you don't see them until they're in the air, but this kid had a green shirt and was standing in broad daylight.

He made a noise between a purr and growl as we passed, sounding near the words of "Keep quiet."

**Chip**

Nick waved something of a solute as he passed and disappeared into the cafeteria. Coach stopped to glance up at me, stiff faced, and disappeared too. Bill looked out at me to make sure I was still there, than sat back against the wall. I positioned myself against the wall of the watch-box, looking out at the water. Bodies were scattered around where they had fallen. The Tank was scorched. The Smoker was torn in pieces. The bridge was gone. The military was gone. Bill and Coach were going to chew into Rutledge the moment the man woke up.

Everything was a mess, and I almost felt as if I wanted to clean it up. I knew I couldn't, but it was a calming thought. The water didn't care. The sun didn't care. Looking at both was like looking at how things had been. It wasn't cold. It wasn't hot. It wasn't overly humid. If it wasn't for the mess, this would be enjoyable. But this was as good as it would get at this point.

"Pup." Ellis thumped the wall behind me, calling me down. "Francis is about tah kill Ru'ledge. Though' ya might want tah see it." The edge of sleepiness was still there, even though is face looked awake. I rolled over the side of the wall and landed on two feet.

Bill tipped his green military hat as we approached the Tank-made hole. Many more people were up by now. No one was talking. Rochelle and Nick were against the back wall with Coach standing a few feet away. Rochelle looked agitated and smacked Nick's hand twice. Zoey was pinching her nose as Francis was talking to her, standing against the wall at the side of the hall. Louis was talking to a stranger.

The door at the opposite end of the hall slammed open, Rutledge came yelling through, jabbing a finger at one of his men. His dark hair plastered to his face by sweat and aggression. "I'll shoot every one of you for letting this happen! Do you know how-"

Francis rounded the corner, standing in front of him. "Good morning." He said politely with a hint of venom. Rutledge narrowed his eyes, glancing at Zoey and than back to the Biker standing in his way. Before a word could escape his mouth, Francis grabbed the front of his collar, slamming him into the wall. Rutledge's Soldiers, made no move to protect the man. Their patience and loyalty running thin.

I would have given him a chance had it been Louis or maybe Nick. But Francis would kill him with a snap of his hand. "You know what I hate? Everything. You know what I hate a lot? Cops. You want to know what you are? Pretty damn close to a cop if nothing more. You lied and nearly killed us all. You had better start explaining before we kill you deader than that Tank." His voice remained a threatening calm. He was nearly lifting Rutledge of the floor. Francis was Francis, and he was about to kill this man.

"I t-told you everything I know! The Military's gone and we have no weapons.!" His voice had risen a few octaves and he was pushing back against Francis' chest.

"No, nope. The Military is right here, and we have weapons. If you weren't so busy worrying about yourself, maybe you'd see _we_ are better at surviving that you are."

"It's not my fault this happened." Rutledge nearly growled, his tightened shirt choking him.

"But it is your fault the Tank wasn't handled better. It's your fault you didn't tell us what was going on. It's your fault our friend was almost put down like a dog all because you were paranoid!" I flinched as Nick moved from the wall and stood closer to me. The Conman's sharp tongue was enough to make Rutledge tense. Francis shoved him into the wall again, this time Bill stepped in and broke Francis' grip on the man's collar before his neck snapped.

Coach and Rochelle had mixed in with the crowd of people gathering around the hall. The Retriever was anxious, glancing from me to the men arguing. Jaidon and the Raven haired woman did not have the friendly expression I had known them to have. They knew about this and they had been caught.

Francis, backed up but still stood tall, intimidating the man. "We leaving Fancy-suit?"

"Yeah." Nick added dryly, waving me and Ellis outside.

"L-leaving?" Jaidon called out, looking at his boss to make us stop. "You can't leave!"

"Why not?" Nick growled. His voice had changed since I had met him. It had become somewhat softer. Now I could hear the grumpy, pessimist side of him coming back now that he was faced with people he despised.

Our large group of nine moved swiftly to the door, leaving the people behind to wonder how we could leave them now.

"B-because we need to protect one-another!" Jaidon was the only to speak out, but several people had gathered to watch. Rutledge didn't say a word.

"Oh, we are protecting each other. We're just not protecting _you_." Nick's voice hissed.

"We protect our own, Jaidon. Your lies made that more clear." Bill dismissed him as we walked out the hole in the wall, leaving Jaidon with a hopeless expression on his face.

"Wait! Wait! You can't just leave us!" He ran after us, looking too me to buy him some time. But this was not the Doctor I knew. This was the Doctor that had set me up to die. For the first time in awhile, the taste of hatred was lifted into my throat and boiled in my chest, coming out as a threatening growl.

"We didn't just rewind, Jaidon." Louis was the one to speak now. The mostly quiet guy shut Francis up before he could make another threat. "That explosion was pretty big. Yeah, we took care of that horde, but every Zombie within radius to see that explosion, and the hear all the noise, is coming. We've startled Witches, blown things up, startles Tanks, _talked_ too loud. Every time some sized horde came. Our answer is still no."

The growl in my throat was building, seeing Jaidon's body language. Ellis picked me up, wrapping his arms around me like he would loose me again if I stayed away too long. Jaidon watched us leave, the Retriever standing behind him at the hole. With a solid bark it turned back inside, leaving Jaidon alone.

I had been that lonely once, but now I had _this_ family. And we weren't loosing anyone because these people slipped. Ellis finally lowered me, the gravel and rubble dug uncomfortably at my palms, but once we got close enough to the houses I would be jumping to avoid it. The craters the bombs had created varied in size and depth. Some not deep at all, others were enough to break a leg if you jumped. Ellis took one look and smacked Nick's arm.

"Hey, hey Nick? Can Chip shove ya down one uh these? Ya know, for old-times sake?"

"Shut up." Nick growled, glancing at me to make sure I didn't really take Ellis' words to heart. I skipped to catch up with Coach and Bill. Both men walked in silence. I was very short compared to them, and my neck was craned back at a ninety degree angle to look at Coach from my four-legged position on the ground. He glanced down, furrowing his brow.

"What?" His deep voice bordering quiet. "You got a real big stare goin' on there boy." The comment toward my wide eyes made me blink, looking back at Nick some ways behind with Ellis. I slowed to walk beside the blue-shirted man. None of us had gotten our jackets back if we had had one. And Nick, Zoey, Bill, and Francis really looked weird with their under shirts rather than their coats. Whatever Nick had been doing before this must have required that suit.

I looked at him with the same stare, trying to decipher his expression. It took one look for him to narrow his eyes and bump Ellis' elbow. "I think your kid's broke."

Ellis looked at me, than chuckled. "Naw. He just knows you two had been fighten'." I narrowed my eyes, looking back and forth from Coach and Nick, deciding that's what must have had them both stiffened when they had come back that morning.

The noise that left my throat was something between a hiccup and cough. Intending to be "Oh."

"God. Chip needs a haircut." Zoey looked over her shoulder. "If only we had some-"

"Shh!" Louis placed a hand on her shoulder, pointing toward the closest crater. I bounded over, looking over the jagged edge. The Jockey inside let out an excited scream as I became visible. I returned it with a small howl, not intending to make him aware of the people behind me, which he probably was any way. The crater wall was to high and tight-packed for him to grab hold and force himself up. His skin burned and peeling like a horrible sun-burn.

"Well damn. I kinda feel bad for the thing." Bill bent down as the Jockey made another attempt to reach it's long arms far enough to get up. His fingers and wrists were bloody and broken. His visible, thin spine was scraped and bruised. His toes were all but gone from his attempt to claw.

"I wish we had a gun." Coach held my shoulder, noticing how close I was to falling in. I was nearly tempted to jump in and shove him out. He was a Zombie but he was stuck. Stuck in the sun and beating himself to death. Of course I knew I couldn't. Jockeys were tricky and fast, no matter what physical condition, and no guns would make him easy to kill. Seeing such a Zombie like this was pitiful knowing how deadly they can be.

"We had better go." Louis began to walk on, the Jockey squealed in an irritated excitement, scratching and tugging at the earth wall to try and reach him.

As we walked farther away, the Jockey began to scream, knowing we were there but clearly out of it's reach. The Louisianan sun beat down on us, and I knew it wouldn't be much longer before the Infected baked to death. I could look back and barely see the blue dot that was the Military base, and I wondered if what Nick said would be true. I knew other Zombies had seen and heard everything last night. But that didn't mean their attention spans wouldn't allow them to forget what they were walking for half-way.

We had no water, even though the water from the bay could be heated over a fire to make it drinkable. But we had no means of making a fire, and food was could make a pretty good joke.

Building walls were still standing, half collapsed and burned. New Orleans was unrecognizable. Another jet skimmed the sky farther up ahead, circling the shoreline across the water.

"They're covering up a retreat." Nick mumbled, watching the bomber jet fly farther and farther away.

"I really thought we were making good time." Rochelle looked around at the dead city, and decided she had been way off.

"The Echo safe haven was gone weeks ago. It didn't seem like the Military was sending any help. They must have cut evacuations short." Zoey glanced back at the bridge that had collapsed, cutting off the two stretches of land.

The rubble was beginning to dig into my hands. The heat making my palms burn like I was stepping on a beaches hot sand with no shoes. I was almost glad I no longer had my jacket, although it had been somewhat of a security blanket. Ellis tugged his hat onto my head, keeping the sun off my face.

The Military base was now no longer visible, only gray land stretched in three of the four directions. It was now noon, so the sun wasn't even at it's peak. With no shelter, our travel slowed and the nine of us began to spread into a long line.

My hands began to ache and sting, small drops of blood spearing the rocks and wood panels I stepped over. The hot ground and dirt made the stinging intensify. I didn't want to make it noticeable, but I couldn't help but lift each of my appendages in turn to give them relief.

"You look like a dog with boots on..." Francis grabbed my waist and lifted me up, looking at my hands and deciding the blood wasn't much to deal with. "Kiddo over here is bleeding."

I squirmed in grasp, feeling the muscles in my back tighten painfully. Ellis still had his Mechanic Cover-all wrapped around his waist. They hadn't made him take it off since he was wearing them as pants. He ripped off part of the sleeves and wrapped them around my hands. Francis finally put me down, and I had to twist my back to make myself loose again.

The fabric stung, but it would guard my palms.

"Man, if we don't find shelter at some point we gonna be sleepin' in the open." Ellis took off his hat and brushed his hair back. The bay was now farther away, since we had begun to walk more inland. It was a simple gray in every direction. The bridge turning into a blurry line.

"Oh, here's a question I didn't ask. Where are we going?" Zoey stopped, finally realizing we were going no where.

"Well. It's apparent the South is gone." Bill removed his hat and put it in his pocket.

Atlanta was gone, and being a bigger city, I knew that most states in that direction were overrun. It had been weeks since anything had been said about the western states, since any new broadcast hadn't lasted very long. Philadelphia was gone, so Northern states, at least in the Southern corner were gone. We were in the lower corner of Louisiana, so getting out of the state to the West would take days.

I didn't even know what direction we're going now.

"The bag my map was in is back at the highway. Unless you all feel like going back there, start watching the sun." Zoey stated.

"The military's gone. So it can't be good anywhere." Louis cut in.

"Than I guess we jus' keep walkin'. N'awlins is where we are now." Coach said. Nick rolled his eyes. "Are we know?"

It now looked to be about two, and the bridge was no longer visible. My hands were now numb, and the strained muscles in my back began twist uncomfortably. We must have been nearing the edge of the city, since the remains of houses and streets became visible. Less craters were slammed into the ground, and blown and burned street signed were scattered around, obviously no where near their streets.

"Lumberton." Nick called out, lifting a large green sign. "Where the hell is Lumberton?"

"Well shit. We're in the corner of Mississippi." Coach pointed down the cracked and abused road that stretched across the ground.

"How do you know that?" Louis asked.

"You live in the South as long as I have, you know where the hell everything is." Coach chuckled. "We really must'ah been walking fast to get this far."

"So walking West is out of the question?" Francis asked, pointing back the way we had come

"Not unless you feel like walking through Louisiana and Texas." Rochelle chuckled.

"No I'm good."

"Well, I think we walked far 'nough today. Might as well fin' somewhere for the night." Coach announced, noticing that the houses were destroyed but walls were in tacked and could provide cover.

I bounded ahead to search for something adequate, ignoring the tightness of my back. Following the road, a deteriorating shopping plaza was still in good condition compared to New Orleans. Several stores still had a portion of the roof left.

I yowled for their attention, leading the way. A few houses and chunks of debris littered the road, and I had to navigate carefully to not step on something sharp. I stepped over the first stores door frame, jumping over a ruined shelf and settled onto the back wall.

"Good eye Chip." Rochelle looked around, brushing off the ground before sitting.

"Man, I wish we had a car right now." Francis complained.

"I think I saw a car dealership down the street Francis. Wanna take a look?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"I hate car dealerships."

By the time night had come, the temperature had lowered a few degrees and the air was comfortable. We had all settled against the back wall, staying out of sight from any Infected that possibly may wonder by. I had my head on Ellis' lap, having woken up at least twice in the two hours I had been trying to sleep.

"Here's an age old one Rochelle, Coke or Pepsi?"

"Coke."

"Coach, Spitters or Jockeys?"

"Spitter."

The eight of them had been going back and forth, asking this-over-that questions to pass the time and energy.

"Bill, Francis or Nick?" Zoey asked, receiving a glare from both men that soon turned on Bill.

"My gun."

I yawned, curling my arms against my chest.

We had gotten pretty lucky so far, and it didn't look like it would get much more dangerous unless the military came in. The Country was being demolished and we were smack in the middle. We had no state to turn to and no rescue waiting any longer.

One had turned to two, then two to nine. Atlanta, Savannah, and New Orleans were all gone, and everything in between. We had been split up, left behind, hurt, lied to, and nearly killed. But we were still sitting in a little store, waiting to sleep so we could keep walking in the morning.

I figured as long as we didn't kill each other first, we would last a little longer.

"Hey Ellis, Tanks or Hunters?"

A hand was placed on my head, brushing back the hair that had fallen into my eyes.

"Hunters."

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><p><strong>So what did you think about the ending? Good? Bad? So-so? Cheesy? Peanut Gallery?<strong>

**It was hard writting the end of this. ;w;**

**I got a little too attached to these Fictional characters.**

**I want to say thank you to all of you that reviewed this story. I enjoyed reading each one and I appreciate the feedback this got. This is the longest story I have finished at 35 chapters, and I want to say sorry for the horribly long wait. I had typed this up completely and then something happened and it didn't save. So this second version isn't the same, but I'm still really happy with it.**

**I hope you all enjoyed! 3**


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